Incendium
by Jayha85
Summary: And now I am become death. The destroyer of worlds. The fires of war seem to have subsided, but hungry eyes still glint from the cold dark. Continuation of Mass Effect after the ending in the third game.
1. Prologue

**Just a quick note before you start reading. This is a continuation of the story after the ending of Mass Effect 3. I've enjoyed reading other fanfics, but haven't really plucked up the courage to post anything of my own. That being said I would like to ask a favor from everyone who decides to read this. I've only just scratched the surface with the chapters posted, but I hesitate to pour too much of my time into it if there isn't much interest. If you enjoy the story and want to see where it goes then either write a review or pm me asking for more. Hope you enjoy and I look forward to hearing from you.**

Prologue

2185 CE

Voyager Cluster

Yangtze System

Planet Binthu

For Professor Kirk Sanchez this day had started much the same as the hundreds before it. He had awoken early, and toured their facilities subject containment cells to confirm that no unexpected anomalies had taken place during the night. After his walk he had continued on to the mess for his usual breakfast of tasteless synthetic coffee and a protein bagel with strawberry cream cheese. After he finished he would have made his way to the lab to work on samples gathered from the previous day. Only today he had barely sat down at one of the long empty benches in the deserted mess when the lights started to flicker and sway while dust trickled down from the ceiling. For a few moments he figured it was simply the environmental systems team bungling through another systems check and brought his steaming cup of coffee to his lips, but an even larger tremor rocking the subterranean research station caused him to second guess his assessment. It was at that moment a wild eyed security guard came bursting into the room and very nearly tripping over his own feet. The young man lost his fight with gravity as another bone rattling quake thundered through the complex. Professor Sanchez swore and jumped up from his bench trying to keep the scalding hot brown liquid that had leapt from his cup onto his lab coat from reaching his skin. He angrily turned to the security guard who was already frantically scrabbling to his feet.

'What the hell is going on?'

The gangly youth who couldn't have been older than twenty didn't even turn to acknowledge the shaggy bearded professor.

'It's coming! Run!'

'What's coming? What in God's name are you blathering about?'

Sanchez got no more information out of the guard who had taken off running toward the other end of the mess in sheer terror.

'Idiot forgot his gun.' Sanchez huffed to himself as he stooped to pick up the frightened man's sidearm. He keyed open the radio from his omni-tool and switched to the station's security channel as another tremor fluttered through the hardened concrete floor. 'Chief Pollard? This is professor Sanchez. One of your new recruits just came tearing through here like a bat out of hell. What the hell is going on up there and where are these quakes coming from? Over.'

He waited several seconds for a reply but none came. 'Security Chief Pollard, this is Professor Sanchez. Do you copy? Over.'

Again his query was met with silence. "God-damnit.' He growled under his breath as he headed out of the mess toward the lift that would take him to the Security Chief's office a few levels above, and dropped the pistol he now carried into one of the oversized pockets of his lab coat.

More than once he nearly lost his footing as the floor beneath him periodically pitched in sympathy to the tremors that were continuing to intensify. 'I bet it's those fools down in the power plant running some new sequence on the reactor. Those glorified electricians wouldn't know their assholes from a hole in the ground.'

He swore again as another bone jarring quake sent him sprawling against the bulkhead to his right. Weak pools of illumination glided around the interior of the cramped complex as the lights hanging overhead jumped and danced with every seismic jolt. The walls of hardened concrete, and reinforced palladium pinged as the foundations supporting them settled after each rattling tremor. Dust continued to trickle down from the ceiling in tiny streams that would be briefly visible when a light played across them but just as quickly disappear when the erratic illumination danced away. As the professor continued on toward the lift it became increasingly difficult to see where he was going. At first he had thought the lights were simply losing power, and even tried to wipe off his glasses but to no avail. Then he realized it wasn't the amount of light that was the problem. It was the thin veil of wispy smoke that was steadily drifting down from above. Countless hours of work with all manner of embalming fluids and chemical cocktails during his research without access to fresh air had robbed his nose of any ability to detect anything but the most potent of concoctions.

His previous irritation at the interruption of his daily routine was now slowly being replaced by a steadily growing sense of trepidation. That feeling was only magnified when he turned a corner and found what looked like a war zone. He couldn't make out many details in the hazy gloom, but what he did see caused his blood to turn cold. Nearly a dozen security guards were sprawled in a bloody tangle sprawled along the corridor. Swinging lightbulbs provided fleeting glimpses of the bloody ruin in the unsettling smoky haze.

'Oh my God…' Sanchez had to work hard to keep what little was in his stomach from rising into his throat as he turned away from the grisly scene. After a few seconds of concentration he was able to exert control over his churning stomach once more and turned back to the carnage in his way.

'Chief Pollard! Dammit Chief answer me!' He called out over his radio again but with the same results. He tried several other frequencies to reach the other departments of the facility but static was the only reply.

It was now clear in his mind that he wasn't dealing with some run of the mill hiccup in the station's normal activities. They were under attack. From who he had no guess. Cerberus had no shortage of enemies and if any one of them found out the kind of experimentation being done within this facility, he had no doubt they would come to put a violent stop to it. Still the gratuitous spectacle in front of him seemed out of place for what any of those enemies would have done if they were conducting an assault. As he slowly inched forward he could see that most of the bodies were no longer whole. A lucky few were only missing large chunks of flesh from their upper torso and head, while the others were missing entire limbs or were so mangled as to be rendered completely unrecognizable as Human. His heart started to pound in his chest as a chilling thought flashed through his brain.

'The subjects have escaped…' He breathed to himself in a constricted whisper.

He quickly picked his way through the remnants of the security detail and mass of gore slicking the floor being careful not to slip when more tremors shook the complex. Unfortunately he was fighting a losing battle and ended up pitching forward to land heavily on the crimson flooded floor. He let out a strangled scream as he came face to face with the horrified death mask of one of the guards decapitated heads. He didn't even notice the sticky scarlet liquid soak into his under trimmed facial hair as he leveraged his rotund frame up onto his hands and knees to scramble forward, batting away the disembodied visage as he went. Eventually he made it out of the red swamp and back to untarnished concrete. He laboriously righted himself and bolted for the lift ahead completely heedless of anything else around him. To his relief the lift door was already open and the car was empty. He frantically typed in the code for the level containing the security office with pudgy, blood stained fingers. After several failed attempts he finally forced himself to calm down, and enter the code correctly. The lift car lurched upward in fits and starts on a warped mag track.

The professor slowly regained his breath from running down the nightmare hallway and relaxed his thudding heartbeat. As the car slowly climbed skyward he took stock of his current situation. It seemed highly likely that the various test subjects housed in the complex had somehow escaped to wreak havoc on their jailers. It also seemed highly likely that he was the only one of the Cerberus staff still alive and if by some slim chance there were still others they would need to fend for themselves. He knew the Illusive Man would be livid at the loss of an entire facility due to faulty containment, but he would still rather escape and take his chances than stay trapped with whatever was loose in the complex. To that end he planned to make his hasty exit through the shuttle bay on the far side of the security office checkpoint and do his best to disappear after getting off world. Who knew, maybe he could even start a new life as some hyped up cosmetic surgeon for the galaxy's elite and live like a king surrounded by fabulous wealth and gorgeous women.

He had already started to plan how he was going to start his new life when the lift finally ground to a screeching halt at his destination. Thick oily smoke billowed into the elevator car as the doors cycled open enveloping the professor in an almost impenetrable blanket. He hacked and coughed as the thick plume was sucked into his already burning lungs and threatened to overwhelm him. He ducked down as low as he could while still standing while using the lapel of his rapidly crusting gore soaked lab coat to cover his mouth and nose. His eyes burnt and stung as he shuffled forward through the inky black shroud toward where his best guess of the security office should be. For several tense moments he feared becoming disoriented and slowly succumbing to smoke inhalation before he could find his way out. Just as he was beginning to consider that he'd become turned around he spotted the the tiniest flicker of orange light ahead. At first he was elated that he'd been going the right way but his joy was short lived as it dawned on him what was producing the light.

He could feel the heat from the fires burning on the impassable wall of rubble left by the ceiling caving in as he neared. With a heartfelt expletive he turned and headed back for the lift. It was a sizable setback but he wasn't without a plan B. Although that alternate meant he would have to again brave whatever stalked the lower levels in his bid for freedom. His vision swam and his head throbbed from the lack of clean air as he stumbled over the threshold of the lift. With great effort he cycled in the code for the lab department. The doors noisily slid shut in front of him although he couldn't see them and the elevator started it's journey back the way it had come. Straining air circulation units worked hard to rid the lift compartment of the suffocating cloud that had accompanied the professor in from the hall. He crowded into the corner where barely filtered air was streaming in from a small slitted vent and took a deep breath of the delicious life giving oxygen. Even when the lift car had been mostly evacuated of the acrid plume he remained glued to the vent trying to suck in as much of the recycled air as he could while trying to settle his protesting stomach. He finally tore himself away from the vent when the doors of the elevator cycled open again. He was more grateful than he had ever been in his life that no smoke had reached this level of the bunker as he stepped out into the dimly lit corridor.

He hurried off on his way toward the far end of the labs and the hidden second entrance to the facility that just happened to be located behind his own office. None of the rest of the staff had been informed of it's location and he had intentionally neglected to mention it's whereabouts to any of his colleagues. He was happy his forethought would pay off. There were perks to being the head researcher of a station like this one. Since no one else knew about it it was unlikely that they would have attempted to reach it and therefore would have led whatever was lurking in the complex away. Sanchez would still have to traverse the breadth of the lab sector without becoming another casualty himself but once he reached the other side he would be home free.

With all the stealth he could muster, he trundled from shadow to shadow in his quest to traverse the labyrinth. As he did he felt the weight of the previously forgotten pistol still in his lab coat pocket bumping against his thigh. He reached in to scoop it out and relished the satisfying weight in his hand. He'd never trained with firearms and barely knew how to even use one except on the most basic level but it still gave him a feeling of power to possess a weapon in his current situation. He fiddled with it for several moments before figuring out how to chamber the gun and turn off the safety. He clutched the handle tightly as he continued on his way. As he progressed he began to mentally congratulate himself for being able to stay cool under pressure and managing to be the only survivor out of a full research staff of almost one hundred and fifty. The tremors had even stopped. He started to feel almost confident as he brazenly pushed onward becoming less concerned with staying hidden. That was until he reached the containment wing.

His newfound confidence at having a weapon quickly evaporated as he imagined the horrors prowling through the darkened hallways on the other side of the door. For almost a minute he stood rooted to the spot staring at the hatch in front of him trying to muster the courage to continue on. His mind raced to find any other possibility of escape but in the end could not. He gripped his pistol with white knuckle intensity and finally convinced himself that whatever was loose was most likely on a completely different level. He had probably been as close to it as he would get when he waded through the gory mess left in the passage on the staff housing level. He kept trying to convince his terrified brain that this was the case but his legs still refused to even shuffle forward. Then he heard the faintest whisper of some unknown body part sliding against stone behind him. The gun came up in an instant as he whirled around to point it's muzzle back the way he'd come. His eyes wildly searched for a target over the trembling sights of his pistol but couldn't see anything in the dimly lit gloom. He stood motionless for what seemed like an eternity but nothing came rushing out of the darkness to messily dismember him.

At long last he reached out with his free hand to cycle open the door and stepped through. He immediately closed and locked it behind himself. Just as the flickering display on the hatch shifted from emerald to vermilion something loudly impacted the other side. His mouth opened but no sound escaped as he stumbled backward away from the hatch. His back butted up against a solid surface which halted his retreat. He stood in petrified terror as his eyes jerked from shadow to shadow. His pulse thundered in his ears and his flabby chest heaved with every adrenalin fueled breath as he finally looked over his shoulder at what he leaned against. Two reflective black orbs stared back. He screeched as his knees buckled and he landed in a heap on the floor. He desperately squirmed backward flat on his back while bringing up his gun. A single shot spat from it's muzzle but instead of burying itself between the creature's blank stare it spattered against the glass barrier separating him from it. A spiderweb of cracks splayed around the bullet's point of impact to completely cover the deathly visage of the Thorian creeper emotionlessly standing in it's containment cell. Several more twisted, haunted faces gathered around the first to glare at the paralyzed Sanchez.

He lay there in stupefied horror, gun still pointed at it's original target before eventually regaining his wits enough to get to his feet. The unnerving gaze of the Creepers followed him as he shuffled away from their cell. He clutched at his chest trying to regain his composure and steady his breathing before doubling over and wretching out a stream of bitter bile onto the floor. His body convulsed several times before he could straighten and wipe his blubbery lips with the crusty sleeve of his left arm.

'Son of a bitch…' He shakily cursed to himself as he activated the flashlight function on his omni-tool and pointed it further down the corridor.

His legs felt like they were filled with ice water but through force of will he managed to get them moving. He tightly hugged the wall furthest from the observation windows of the various containment cells and played his light across their glass surfaces looking for the one that was ruptured and would signify what exactly he was dealing with.

Eventually he neared the end but could plainly see that none of the cells had been breached. Just as he let out a sigh of relief the lights cut out plunging him into complete darkness save for the small beam of light emanating from his omni tool. The blood in his veins stopped cold as he turned back to see the crimson display on the hatch in the distance flicker and wink out. Without another thought he turned and fled in sheer panic. Any thought to fight utterly overridden by the overwhelming need to escape. He started to scream as sounds of his pursuer gaining on him reached his ears but he didn't dare look back. By no small amount of pure luck and survival instinct he tore around a corner and through the door of his own office. As he cleared the threshold he tripped over something and went tumbling to the floor. He continued to scream as he brought the gun and his flashlight up again and madly swept it around looking for his assailant.

His breath hitched in his chest as the meager light made played across another nightmare like what he'd seen in the staff housing passage earlier. The office was painted from floor to ceiling in sticky red gore. Unrecognizable chunks of meat and pieces of bone were strewn about like bits of confetti. He tried to frantically right himself and flee but couldn't get any purchase on the blood slick concrete.

'Prof… Professor?'

He froze and shined his light toward the source of the weak voice off to his right. The small pool of illumination settled on the ashen face of a young woman sitting on the floor with her back propped against the rear of his desk.

'Mo… Morgan?' He barely croaked past his tortured throat.

'Professor…' She whispered again.

'Morgan, thank God.' He wheezed trying to scoot over to her.

'Professor… Get…' She said.

'What? Morgan I don't und…' He started to say as his light dipped downward and illuminated her lower half. 'Oh God…'

A ragged tear laterally split her abdomen allowing her internal organs to spill out onto her lap. She was using both of her hands in vain to try to hold them in.

'Morgan… Who… What did this?'

'Professor… Get…'

'Yes?' He craned his neck so he could hear her tiny whisper.

'Professor… Get… Away…'

'What?'

'Get… Away… You'll bring… It… Back…'

His mouth tasted like a desert. 'Bring what ba…'

Suddenly she let out a blood curdling scream as something grabbed her from the other side of the desk and wrenched her into the darkness. Sanchez tried to scramble away, pistol completely forgotten, while sickening gurgling noises escaped from Morgan's throat in her dying moments. He let out a pathetic whimper as he attempted to crawl away on his hands and knees trying desperately to wake from whatever nightmare he'd fallen into. He felt breath on the back of his neck but didn't turn until something heavy slammed into his side and flipped him over onto his back. He lay there staring up into the blackness above him. Each breath coming more difficult than the last. He stared up at nothing for a few seconds before a pair of unearthly glowing eyes shining back the reflected light of his omni tool appeared in his field of vision. He tried to move, to grab for the gun he had dropped, and shine the light on the face of his attacker but his body no longer responded to his commands. The eyes came closer until he could see the gleam from huge, unnaturally sharp teeth twisted up into a predatory grin. That grin was the last thing Professor Sanchez ever saw.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

2187 CE

Local Cluster

Sol System

Planet Earth

Shattered stones and broken chunks of brick scraped against one another as Tali'Zorah vas Normandy's three toed feet stepped gingerly around, over, and on top of them. A light sprinkle of rain pattered around her. Each droplet touching down on one of the various piles of rubble before being inexorably drawn downward by gravity to collect in small puddles that the already damp soil couldn't manage to absorb quickly enough. A low ceiling of grey and black clouds hung drearily overhead casting everything in a pale gloom. The weather matched Tali's mood perfectly. With deliberate care she weaved through the ruins of multiple buildings that used to be apart of the glorious London skyline. Though to a casual observer she could almost pass for a graceful apparition flitting quietly between the wreckage, anyone that knew her on a personal level would be able to plainly see the painful shallow strides she took, and the way her normally fluid movements seemed to hitch and start. Fortunately no one that knew her personally was anywhere nearby to witness her struggle through the wreckage.

Several teams of rescue workers and clean up crews were relatively close by clearing large sections of ruins and searching for the bodies of unfortunate combatants that had been trapped when the buildings had been destroyed. While Council Space species were respectfully lined up and covered with black sheets any Reaper corpses found by the crews were immediately taken to a separate pile and burned. Though the rain was making that task infinitely more difficult. Tali had volunteered to assist in clean up efforts as soon as she'd arrived back on Earth with the remaining crew of the Normandy. Even though it had been several weeks since the defeat of the Reapers, and the subsequent crash landing of the Normandy on an unexplored planet, the scene in London where the final confrontation had taken place still looked like a war zone. Clean up efforts had focused on the major population centers of the city first while less crucial areas, like the one Tali had requested to be assigned to, seemed to have been barely touched. Her tall and slender build made her a perfect candidate for navigating the treacherous slopes of crumbling debris so the search and rescue team she'd joined had been more than willing to have her accompany them.

She was happy to help and have a project to center herself on, but truth be told she actually had somewhat of an ulterior motive in her choice of assignments. While she had begun the day searching with the rest of the workers as afternoon wore on she'd distanced herself from the others to search one particular spot on her own. She was especially grateful that none of her crew mates from the Normandy had decided to join her at this particular site today. She'd had plenty of shoulders to cry on over the past weeks, but today she was looking for some semblance of closure and preferred to be alone if she found it. What she was looking for was one body in particular. The body of the man she loved. The body of Commander Shepard.

While the crews focused on the ruined buildings of the city, Tali made her way down a shallow slope toward the remnants of what used to be the transporting beam that had carried her beloved from the surface of the world to the Citadel floating in geo synchronous orbit above. It had been there that he had triggered the Crucible and unleashed a dazzling ruby energy wave that had destroyed every artificially intelligent being in the galaxy as well as severely damaging the Mass Relays closest to the epicenter of the shockwave. He had also apparently given his life to do so.

The rain seemed to fall harder the closer she got to the bottom of the slope causing her to slow to keep from losing her footing in the wet soil. As she made her way down images of that last fateful push to the beam sprang unbidden to the front of her mind. She stopped entirely and simply stood, shoulders slumped in the downpour, as memories of events that seemed just as vivid as when they had actually taken place nearly a month ago flashed across her vision.

Fires from dozens of wrecked vehicles backlighting a barren, hellish landscape. Suffocating fumes of charred flesh and molten slag somehow making it through her enviro suit's air filters. Screams of the dying ringing out before being swallowed up by the rumbling boom of detonations, the sharp whip crack of small weapons fire, and the thundering roar of Harbinger bellowing out his rage above them. They'd been running straight down the incline where she now stood, desperately trying to reach the beam before the Reaper's forces could stop them. Chaos erupted all around as Harbinger spat lances of scarlet death into the ranks of charging soldiers to halt their advance. Tali and Garrus had fallen some distance behind the main vanguard of Alliance soldiers, and Shepard, when one of the discharges from Harbinger's primary weapons impacted an APC nearby. The Commander had deftly slid underneath it as it flipped end over end through the air like a toy, but she and Garrus hadn't been so lucky. The spiraling multi-ton transport vehicle landed heavily in front of them with a loud crunch before it's engine exploded, catching both of them in the blast.

She hadn't remembered blacking out but the next thing she could clearly recall was Shepard cradling her in his arms as he was calling out over their team's radio frequency to have both herself and Garrus extracted. She tried to protest but the sounds of the chaos swirling around them and Joker's shouted reply drowned her out. Within a few moments she could hear the familiar roar of the Normandy's thrusters and looked up to see the sleek contours of it's armor plated hull rapidly approaching. Without a word Shepard lifted her up like she weighed nothing and carried her to the Normandy's opening cargo bay with Garrus limping along behind. He set her down on the deck plates as Garrus grabbed her arm to loop it around his scaly neck. It wasn't until Shepard shouted instructions to their Turian companion that she fully realized what he was intending to do.

"Garrus! Get her out of here!"

She tried to reach for Shepard to stop what she knew was happening. "Shepard please… You can't leave me behind."

He stepped forward and lightly rested his hand where her cheek would be within her suit's helmet. "Tali…"

She covered his hand with hers. "Don't leave me behind."

"Tali. You need to survive. Go back to Rannoch… Make yourself a home… Live the life we wanted to share for the both of us… I love you."

And then he was gone, charging off into the maelstrom again. She reached out in desperation as if she could bring him back with sheer will alone. Her heart screamed at her to follow but her battered body wouldn't comply. With utter finality the cargo bay ramp clanged shut and the Normandy jetted off to relative safety without it's Commander. That had been the last time she'd seen him alive.

Now she stood almost four weeks later in the pouring rain on the very spot where her Human Kaleya had left her behind to sacrifice himself for the rest of the galaxy. Feelings of the same despair and powerlessness welled up into her tightening chest. She fell to her knees in the sloppy muck and finally allowed the tears she'd held back for so long to freely fall. All sense of time was lost as she cried out all of her loss, misery, and resentment. She wished she had never met him. She wished that she had simply died that day in the Wards where he had rescued her from an ambush by Saren's men. That day when they'd first met. Better to have died herself than to endure all of the anguish and sorrow heaped upon her since then. The loss of her team on Freedom's Progress. The loss of Kal'Reegar's squad on Haestrom. The death of her father aboard the Alarei. And now, the death of the only man she could ever see herself loving for the rest of her life.

She pounded her fist into the growing puddle around her in impotent rage. It wasn't fair. How was it that she should be left alive to have to pick up the pieces. To have to accept all the grief and guilt. She'd never asked him to save her much less throw away his own life in the process. This was all his fault. He'd made her promises he knew he could never hope to keep. He'd let her think that they were going to be together forever. That once the war was done they'd be able to quietly slip away and live in peace the way they both deserved. But now he was gone and with him all of his promises of happiness.

For several minutes she knelt there, head bowed, letting the hot tears streaming from her eyes drip from her cheeks and the tip of her nose onto the violet glass of her visor until the puddle in the curved glass mirrored the one she wallowed in. Eventually there were no more tears left to shed as she cried herself out and started to pick herself up. The rain had also slackened to a barely noticeable drizzle though the oppressive shroud of storm clouds stubbornly remained overhead.

She felt completely exhausted but continued to push on to where the remains of the beam assembly still pointed skyward like some decaying obelisk. Crews had already scoured every inch of the shattered Citadel in the aftermath of the final battle searching for survivors but had yet to fully search where the beam connected in London. They'd found the bodies of the Illusive Man and Captain Anderson aboard the Citadel near where the Crucible had been docked but were never able to locate Shepard. The official story from Alliance brass had been that the Commander must have been incinerated in the explosion when the Crucible fired and whatever remains there were of him had been blown out into space. Although this seemed like a completely logical presumption, Tali still couldn't allow herself to let go unless she found his body. A niggling doubt always seemed to scratch at the back of her mind that he might be out there somewhere waiting for her even though all evidence told her he wasn't. At least if she found his body she'd be able to lay him to rest and move on with whatever kind of life she still had left.

So she pushed herself onward with no clear idea of how she would search or even where to start. Only the desire for closure guiding her forward. For hours she sifted through rubble, and crumbling ruins checking for any sign of her love. The crew she had accompanied to the site began to pack up their equipment as the slender rays of the sun that made it through the dense canopy of clouds slowly sank ever closer to the broken horizon. Still she continued on in her seemingly fruitless efforts as she made her way methodically around what was left of the beam towers. The gnawing bite of hunger wrenched at her insides and her limbs felt like they were filled with ice water from her labors but she refused to give in to the discomfort. She tried to force her body's not so subtle cries for rest from her mind but a brief transmission from one of her squad mates broke through her concentration.

"Tali? Are you on this channel?"

She instantly recognized the harmonic voice of her Turian friend. "Yes Garrus, I can hear you. What do you need?"

"Just checking in. Haven't seen you since you left early this morning… The rest of the team were going to meet up for food in a few minutes." He tried to inject some levity into his tone, but his subharmonics completely gave away the concern he actually felt.

She sighed and tried as best as she could to sound cheerful. "I'm ok Garrus. Really. I'll be along in a little while to join all of you."

Silence greeted her for a full five seconds before he responded back. His tone making it blatantly obvious that her attempt to deceive him had been no more successful than his own bluff to her. "Tali… I know it's hard to accept… But you need to let him go."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She bristled from Garrus' blunt reference to their mutual loss.

"I know where you went… He wouldn't want you to kill yourself like this. Not again."

"And how the hell would you know what he wants? I was closer to him than you ever were!" She snarled back before cutting the feed and filling her helmet's audio pickups with empty air once again.

She stood for several minutes amidst the wreckage, her body tense and her hands clenched into tight shaking fists. After the initial surge of anger fueled adrenalin gradually trickled from her bloodstream she felt the crippling weight of her exhaustion even more acutely and immediately regretted the painful words she said to one of her oldest and closest friends. She briefly considered opening the line again to apologize but couldn't bring herself to speak to him again just yet. For the time being she simply decided to resume her search and the gray autopilot state of mind that it brought. At least she could find some escape in that. With a flick of one long graceful finger over her omni tool's holographic display, a small column of white light played out from it's assembly near her knuckles to chase away some of the growing shadows of twilight.

What little natural light that was left from the last vestiges of the suns warming rays gave way to darkness as night gradually settled in. Eventually the cloud cover obscuring the sky unfurled to reveal a sprinkling of twinkling stars against an inky backdrop. Without the subtle glow of city lights to tarnish their brightness, the tiny specks of light could shine like a million gleaming diamonds scattered across a velvety black canvas. Any other time Tali might have considered the spectacle to be breathtakingly beautiful. However that child like wonder had long since been stamped out by the war with the Reapers, and their murder of her Human soul mate. Now all she could think of when she looked up into the crisp night sky were the horrors that had poured forth from dark space to wrench everything her future would ever be away from her.

With dogged determination she renewed her efforts to leave no stone or brick unturned, her mind slowly slipping back into a steady, numb rhythm. Another hail over the team frequency buzzing in her ear to threatened her concentration again before she squelched it. A momentary pang of guilt at ignoring her friends burned in her chest.

"I'll apologize when I get back." She promised to herself in the confines of her own helmet.

With a grunt of exertion she clutched the edges of a large concrete slab and shifted it on one broken corner to drop it heavily onto the uneven ground before turning back. What she saw caused her heart to leap into her throat. Nestled in the tiny void hidden behind the paver she'd just pushed to the side lay a scorched and battered armor vambrace attached to the tattered remnants of a gauntlet. Her knee-jerk reaction to the find was almost immediately quashed by her mind's logical explanation of it's location. There had been dozens of Alliance soldiers running for the beam and most of them had been blasted to atoms by Harbinger. She'd found remnants of armor, weapons, and bodies littering the site all day. This one happened to be closer to the beam monoliths than any of the other fragments she'd found thus far but the chances that it belonged to the specific Human she sought were nigh impossible. Still she hadn't come this far to dismiss any find on probability.

She gingerly wormed her way into the claustrophobic space and stretched one thin arm into the hole to retrieve the discarded piece of armor. Her fingers groped blindly for several seconds before brushing against what they were feeling for. The circumference of the vambrace was greater than her own forearm and hand making it more difficult for her to get a good grip on it's contoured surface. With delicate movements she maneuvered the scrap of armor so that she can grasp it by the ragged tatters of the partially destroyed glove and pull it out. She slowly got to her feet on aching knees before examining the severely abused armor fragment. Almost no light was reflected back from her flashlight from the charred surface of the armor's outer skin. The entirety of what remained of the gauntlet was completely blackened and half melted into unrecognizable slag. The vambrace only seemed to have faired marginally better. Numerous cracks and deep gouges showed from projectiles glancing off it's hardened surface while a single large split from wrist to elbow testified to where it was torn from it's hapless wearer's limb.

Tali turned the scrap over in her hands for a moment before her pulse quickened and began to pound between her ears. A single red stripe flanked by silvery white subtly peaked through dingy soot and char. She reverently clutched the filthy armor remnant to her chest before casting her gaze around hoping to spot more. After a few seconds her omni-tool's illumination flicked past a faint gleam a dozen yards away. She gently placed the vambrace on a table like paver before practically running to where the tiny reflection had winked at her from the darkness. With some effort she found what she was looking for in the form of a shoulder guard that was barely held together by the layer of reflexive control interface mesh below the outer armor plates that transferred the wearer's bodily movements to the suit. Adrenalin once again surged through her veins as she wiped away as much grime as she could from the guard's exterior and discovered the same trio of painted stripes dully shining up at her.

All thoughts of her aching body and growling stomach were completely forgotten as she delicately placed the shoulder pauldron next to the vambrace on the stone slab before heading back in the same direction to continue searching. For almost thirty minutes her hunt went unrewarded but her spirits were undimmed after finding what was almost certainly a piece of her beloved's most coveted possession. A tiny flicker of relief played through her mind as she scoured every possible nook and cranny seeking more fragments. Even if there were no more to find, she would at least have some small sliver of her Shepard back. It was about as much as she could have possibly ever hoped for. After another couple minutes she decided to contact her team to relay her location and inform them of her discovery. Her throat constricted and her blood ran cold as she opened the team wide radio band again. A barely audible groan drifted through her speakers to hauntingly grate against her eardrums. She stood utterly frozen, unwilling to move a muscle lest the ghostly sound should turn out to simply be her mind playing tricks on her. There again a pained moan whispered through her audio link.

"G… Garrus?" She tentatively whispered back.

No response.

"Cortez? Kaidan? If this is you bosh'tets idea of a joke it's not funny!" She waited in tense silence for her squad mates to come clean and confess their trick but no reply came. After convincing herself that it was just her team's ill conceived attempt at a prank she decided to pull up the channel's roster to see exactly who was connected.

"Keelah…" Was all she managed to squeak past the lump forming in her throat.

Her eyes stared unblinkingly at the name highlighted in green on her visor's HUD interface unwilling to believe what she was witnessing.

'Sh… Shepard?'

She waited. Waited for the moan, waited to wake up, waited to hear the voices of her team, she waited for something, anything that would either confirm or deny that she was experiencing reality. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a sharp, tormented howl of pure agony tore through her speakers. The tiny grey icon next to the woefully weak signal strength indicator in her heads up display briefly pulsed green in sympathy.

'Shepard! Where are you?' She screamed in desperation. 'Garrus, Kaidan! Somebody please! Help me!'

Disturbing quiet settled over her like a suffocating blanket. The only sound she heard was her own terrified breathing in the oppressive confines of her helmet. Panic started to set in as what seemed like an eternity passed with Shepard's speak icon remaining stubbornly dark. Through force of will she managed to beat back her hysteria before making a mad dash toward the center clearing between the transporter beam monoliths. She nearly tripped twice as she ran as her eyes were solely fixed on the party roster in her HUD and not where she was going. With each step she took the incredibly weak signal coming from Shepard's communicator faintly grew but the speak icon didn't so much as flicker.

She skidded to a halt on a small patch of unbroken ground near the closest of the towering pillars above her while frantically stabbing the light from her omni-tool at the darkness in every direction searching for any sign. Tears started to gather in the corner of her eyes as she stood helplessly in the dark not knowing what to do. The possibility of rescuing her Kaleya alive seemingly slipping right through her fingers.

"Keelah Shepard! Where are you? Where are you you miserable bosh'tet!?'

She waited in horrified anticipation for what seemed like days fearing the worst. Then she heard it. The barely audible rustle of armor plates whispering over stone in tandem with a burdened inhalation of breath. She whirled toward the half broken pillar immediately to her left and wildly tore into the piles of sizable debris heaped around it's base as the bar containing Shepard's comm signal in her visor went dark.

'Shepard no! Please not now!' She screeched flinging rubble in all directions.

At last she finally uncovered what she so desperately sought. A horribly battered and scarred N7 chest plate began to show through gaps in the mound of wreckage.

"Just hold on! I'm coming!" She screamed while feverishly trying to lever a pair of heavy steel beams away to get at the debris they were holding in place. She could feel the tightly corded muscle in her right bicep beginning to tear and the joints at her wrists elbows and shoulders screaming in protest as she pushed with all her might to dislodge the huge hunks of metal.

They finally budged at the same moment her arm gave way. She gritted her teeth against the pain and tore back into the pile covering her Kaleya as the pair of girders clanged to the ground beside her. Her heart nearly pounded out of her chest as she finally removed the last of the debris pinning Shepard in place before gingerly crouching to take hold of either side of his armored chest plate and slowly pull him out from under the looming umbrella of rock and steel that still hung precariously overhead. She instinctively laid him out on the flattest patch of soaked earth she could find and immediately pulled up the medical interface in her omni-tool's support suite to access Shepard's vital signs which barely even registered. For a few tense seconds she stood rooted unsure of what she should to do. His heart was barely fluttering, his lungs barely quivered, and the majority of his vital organs were in the final stages of shutdown. Without knowing what else to do she frantically searched for a medi-gel injection port somewhere on the cratered ruin of his armor but couldn't find one in the half melted slag. Panic began to set in again as her Kaleya's life signs gradually ebbed away while she sat completely helpless beside him.

"No… No no no no. Please Shepard, you can't leave me! You can't leave me behind again!" She pleaded lifting his head with one slender hand to wrap her arms around him and cradle him close. She started to sob but no tears remained to fall.

She looked down into the visage that she had come to adore over the past several years but almost couldn't recognize. Deep sickly green bruises and blood caked lacerations covered nearly every inch of his face and scalp. His strong features were unnaturally hollow. His skin almost appeared to hang off his bones like a pale shroud. His famously relaxed expression was pulled tight into a painful grimace that looked even more alien from the excessive trauma and malnourishment he'd suffered. Despair finally claimed her entirely as the Commander's vitals flat lined and his desperate fight for life ceased.

"Shepard! SHEPARD!" All she could do was scream his name in anguish between wracking sobs at being forced to undergo the torture of losing him all over again, and beat her balled fist against his chest as grief shattered the last hopes she dared entertain that this was all just some sick nightmare within her own mind.

Then she felt him stir almost imperceptibly in her grasp. She felt the broken, de-gloved fingers of his left hand tighten ever so slightly against the fabric on the right side of her suit. She didn't see his chest move but could clearly see the tiny fog on the outside of her visor from his breath as she leaned her face in toward his. In an instant the barest hint of new hope fluttered inside her chest.

"This is Tali'Zorah Vas Normandy of the Migrant Fleet. I've found Commander Shepard at the Citadel transportation beam ruins! Please if anyone can hear this I need help immediately! He's still alive!" Her cry for aid over every Alliance communications channel she had access to didn't go unanswered.

A flurry of acknowledgements, and requests for her to repeat her transmission flooded her comm but they fell on deaf ears. All her thoughts were bent on the Human man barely clinging to life in her protective embrace.

"They're coming Kaleya. I'm not going to lose you again. I'm going to save you this time." She whispered gently as she rested her head against his.

One of his nearly ruined eyes opened the barest hint and found her own behind the violet glass of her visor. "T… Tal… Li?'"He barely managed to croak past parched, deeply cracked lips before falling back into unconsciousness, his face relaxing into it's usual peaceful serenity as it always had on the nights they had spent together.

"Yes Shepard. I'm here with you. I'll always be here with you." She gently murmured as floodlights appeared at the top of the craggy slope above the beam obelisks. The air came alive with the steady roar of shuttles converging on their location.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Unknown Time

Unknown Cluster

Unknown System

Unknown Planet

A light breeze drifted pass carrying handfuls of discarded dry leaves in it's gentle wake. Their brittle skins rustling against one another with a distinct sigh that could never be replicated by any other means. Their subtle earthy aroma's tinge the air as they lazily brushed past the craggy bark of barren trees that stood forever watchful amidst the never-ending flow of time. Faint rays of sunlight glinted through wiry branches that reached ever taller into the burnished bronze sky. All was calm and peaceful.

Shepard effortlessly glided between the silent sentinels, reaching out to brush his fingertips against their stony trunks as he passed. It had been so long since he had just had time to relax and truly enjoy his surroundings. So much of his time had been spent racing from one hostile location to the next in what seemed like a never ending struggle just to survive one more day. He relished the brief respite as best he could while he had the fleeting chance.

As he wound his way through whatever grove he'd found himself in, his thoughts began to wander was well.

'I wonder where I am?' He nonchalantly asked to no one in particular and wasn't really surprised when no reply answered back. 'How did I get here?' Again no response but the quiet whisper of leaves tumbling along the ground at his feet.

He continued on his aimless journey through the woods but the sky was steadily growing dark. Crickets began to chirp as dusk lengthens and bathes the world around him in lavender and midnight blue shade.

'Hmm. Better find somewhere to rest for the night before it gets cold.'

As if in sympathy to his thoughts a tiny amber spec of light began to flicker in the distance. Like a moth to flame he instinctively gravitated toward the only sign of life in the quiet forest around him. As he approached he was able to distinguish the source of the light beckoning him onward. The distinctly angular lines of a small colonial prefab unit materialized out of the gloom as he neared. All of the windows were dark save one on the second floor of the unit. He hovered up to the door and lightly tapped on it's metallic surface with the knuckles of his right hand.

'Hello? Is anyone there?' He called out and waited patiently for a response.

'Yes, come in. It's open.' A small muffled voice hollered back from inside.

He reached out to key open the door but it noiselessly glided open before he could even touch the keypad. He didn't notice that the breeze ceased as he entered the interior of the prefab unit and the door clicked shut behind him.

'Thank you. I don't mean to intrude. Can you tell me where…'

'Up here.' The voice interrupted him from the upper level. It still sounded muffled and far away.

'Oh… Um ok. My name is Shepard. Commander Lucian Shepard.' His own voice seemed hollow and distant in the close, still air. 'I was just wondering where exactly we are?' He asked again as he made his way up the stairs toward the rear of the unit carefully avoiding the furnishings he somehow knew were there but couldn't actually see.

'Up here.' The voice repeated again still sounding no closer than it had before.

He followed the warm glow of light emanating from the top of the stairs and made his way up. His feet seemed to grow heavier as he ascended but he paid it no mind. One of the steps creaked loudly in protest as he put his full weight on it but he felt as if he'd been expecting it to. He reached the top of the small staircase feeling somewhat winded.

He glanced over toward the window he'd seen in the front of the prefab house and the back of a small hunched figure dimly illuminated by a short desk lamp. The figure didn't move or stir.

'I uh… I apologize if I've disturbed you but can you tell me where here is? Honestly I don't even remember…' His body tensed as he edged closer to the diminutive silhouette seated beneath the window. His eyes flicked from side to side as disturbingly familiar details finally came into focus cloaked in the shadows. He recognized the bed from his room back on Mindoir. He saw the old Alliance Andy and Eclipse Eroba action figures that used to be his favorite toys growing up.

His apprehension grew as he carefully crept up behind the silent form. He could clearly see tussled blond hair and the worn grey hoody jacket the boy was wearing. 'Wait don't… Don't I know you?'

The air around him was unimaginably heavy, almost oppressively so. Even his own rapid breathing sounded like it was being heard from underwater. The cheerful song of the crickets outside ceased entirely leaving nothing but the suffocating stillness. The light on the boy's desk flickered and winked out plunging the room into total darkness but for a small shaft of moonlight shining through the open window. Shepard's pulse quickened and nervous sweat began to bead on his forehead. He reached out toward the boy.

'Come on. This doesn't feel right. I need to get you out of here.'

In an instant the youth rounded on him and let loose a blood curdling scream. Shepard recoiled in utter terror at the face of the Reaper Husk staring blankly back at him. He instinctively reached for a sidearm at his hip but his hand came away empty. He backpedaled to get away from the ghastly abomination advancing on him but his legs felt as if they were filled with concrete. His back butted up against the wall behind him halting his escape from the monster before him. He thrusted his hands out to keep the skeletal creature back but it pushed past them like they weren't even there. It's dead eyes stare unblinkingly into his holding him transfixed as it's face hovered only inches from his own.

Then, like flood gates had been thrown wide, memory returned in an overwhelming rush. The war. Death, carnage, destruction. The voices of billions crying out in anguish as Reapers burned a bloody path across the galaxy in their never ending crusade to purge sentient life. The final stand on Earth, and his ultimate sacrifice to save every sapient species from the threat of harvest. He remembered the final moments in history's darkest hour. He remembered standing atop the Crucible on the precipice of indecision with the incorporeal representation of a child he had failed to save standing at his side. It mocked him and his ignorance proclaiming itself to be the gestalt consciousness of the Reapers made manifest while simultaneously trying to save itself from destruction by offering him the illusion of a choice. He hadn't listened. He remembered crimson light and a titanic explosion as every despicable act the Reapers had ever perpetrated was finally answered for. He remembered his Saleya, Tali'Zorah's, face for the briefest instant before the world around him was swallowed up by the void. Then he had found himself in the forest.

'Everyone is dying… You can't help me.' The monstrosity before him squealed in the frightened voice of a terrified child.

'No! You're dead! I killed you!' Shepard shouted and finally managed to shove the creature away.

It stumbled backward cackling maniacally as it's face began to transform into something Shepard had never seen before under the pool of illumination spilling through the window. 'You're right.' It hissed through rapidly sharpening teeth that started to curl up into a vicious smile. 'You destroyed them but now you've thrown wide the gates… Better you had been harvested by the machines.' It lunged forward, reaching out with enormous claw like fingers.

Shepard willed every cell of his body to move out of the way. To fight or to flee. The long claws dug into the prefab wall behind him as he scrambled down the stairs, the sound of the creature hot on his heels spurring him on. He lowered his shoulder to plow through the front door to what had once been the home he had grown up in and out into the night. As he cleared the threshold an enormous fire erupted within bathing the woods around the house in a hellish glow. He picked himself up as the dying screams of his mother and father drifted through the night air but he didn't dare look back as he fled into the trees. He could feel the beast behind him, gaining on him with every stride he took despite his panic stricken flight. Razor sharp branches reached out of the shadows to grasp at his clothing while the radiance of the blaze at his back illuminated the piles of bodies strewn amongst the encircling trunks that hadn't been there before.

And then the creature was upon him. Something heavy connected with him from behind and sent him tumbling forward to land face down in the blood soaked dirt. He rolled onto his front and leaped up to face his attacker as it bore down on him. He threw his arms up to ward off the blow of one fiendishly barbed limb. He screamed in pain as the vicious serrations on the monster's scything appendage mercilessly gouged through the flesh on his right forearm. He tried to surge forward and pummel his attacker into dust with his bare fists but he was stopped short by an explosion of unbearable agony across the entirety of his body. He sank to his knees and looked down to see hundreds of hooked spines embedded in his flesh. He followed the sinuous cords connecting them to the unholy nightmare that tormented him. It's twisted grin parted slightly to allow it's long serpentine tongue to slide across it's unimaginably huge obsidian fangs.

He screamed again as the hooks yanked him forward, many of them ripping free of his body in the process. Vice like claws clamped down on his torso and limbs crushing the bones within like they were no more than rotten twigs. The pain was like nothing he had ever experienced before but his mind remained stubbornly coherent. He could barely breath past the crushing grip constricting his lungs and heart. The monstrosity pulled him in toward it's glistening jaws. He tried to struggle. To fight free of it's unnaturally strong clutches but any strength he had left had been crushed out of him.

'I had expected more, Shepard.' It said condescendingly in a low, guttural growl. '… Shepard… Shepard.' It continued to repeat his name each time it's voice becoming a little smoother and rising in pitch.

'Shepard… SHEPARD…' The voice started to become more urgent as the pressure on his body subsided.

He tried to open his eyes but their lids now felt as if the weight of the world was keeping them shut. With as much might as he had left he desperately forced one eye to open the tiniest crack. At first he couldn't see anything at all and wondered if his eye was even open at all. Then he caught sight of an amethyst halo hovering over him and two glowing ivory orbs looking back at him.

'T… Tal… Li…'

'I'm here with you…' Her beautifully soothing voice floated after him as he drifted off into peaceful, dreamless sleep.

2187 CE

Local Cluster

Sol System

Planet Earth

Heart rate monitors and blood oxygen level sensors beeped their incessant, never ending rhythm as Shepard gradually began to stir into wakefulness. His eyelids still felt incredibly heavy but he had marginally more strength than before with which to pry them open. At first he could only manage to split them open a hair before the harsh glare of hospital lights above him forced them to wink shut again. He never remembered having such difficulty opening his eyes before. He summoned up the strength to try again, this time determined to keep them open if he should succeed. The steady keening of the monitors around him increased in tempo as he readied himself for another try. Before he could familiar voices excitedly murmur to one another and interrupted his concentration.

'Hey. I think he's waking up!'

'Doctor… Doctor! His life signs are picking up.'

'Yeah doc. Make with the stims already!'

'Hush all of you! He still needs his rest.'

A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips at all the fuss his friends were making which helped him continue his efforts to open his eyes with renewed vigor. At long last he was rewarded with bright light once again flooding into his retinas. His eyes stung and watered from the exertion but he valiantly fought to keep them open regardless. It took him a few minutes to realize that everyone had gone completely quiet around him while he patiently waited for his eyes to adjust to the glare overhead. With agonizing slowness the world gradually came into hazy focus. He blinked once to try and rid the fuzzy after images that tenaciously clung to the outer edges of his peripheral vision without success. He tried to turn his head to take in his surroundings but couldn't even manage so much as a tremble.

A deep thrumming voice with multiple layers of subharmonics quietly spoke at his left side. 'I think he's trying to look around. Can we elevate his bed a little so he can see where he's at?'

Another weak grin quirked the sides of Shepard's mouth. Garrus always seemed to have his back.

The doctor hesitated for a few moments before finally acquiescing. 'Very well but only a quarter of the way up. I don't want to put undue pressure on his spine.'

Servos whined in fits and starts beneath him as he felt his upper torso inclining with the bed and the expectant faces of the people he called his family slowly entered his field of view. He could see Garrus beside him fumbling with the bed's controls, Liara leaning over trying to show him which button he was supposed to be pressing. Joker sitting just to his right with Jack standing against the wall doing her best to look aloof but failing miserably. Kasumi sat with her legs crossed at the foot of his bed propping herself up on one slender arm. Doctor Chakwas stood just behind her with a data pad in one hand and a concerned expression on her face.

Shepard's eyes weakly flicked between the friendly faces arranged around him but didn't find one in particular that he was searching for. 'Whe…Where…' He tried to speak but his mouth felt like a desert mixed with cotton balls.

'For fuck sake. When's the last time this poor bastard had anything to drink?' Jack griped at the doctor.

'Watch your language Jennifer.' The doctor scolded back.

Jack glanced angrily over at Liara. 'Godamnit, she knows too? Jesus I thought the Shadow Broker was supposed to be better at this kind of thing.'

Liara folded her arms across her chest. 'You did not ask nicely.'

'Will someone just go get the Commander some water please?' Joker broke in.

'What you're too busy?' Jack quipped.

'Ok sure. Fine. Make the poor guy in the WHEELCHAIR do all the work.'

'Oh alright that's enough. I've got some right here. Garrus would you so kindly make way?' Doctor Chakwas asked coming to the rescue.

The old easy banter would have had Shepard chuckling to himself if he'd been capable but as it was he didn't even have the energy to muster any kind of amused reaction. The doctor gingerly slid past Garrus' and weaved her way through the myriad of hoses and conduits connecting the Commander with the various pieces of equipment that had been keeping him alive. She gently tilted his head back slightly with one hand while ever so carefully holding the edge of the cup to his lips allowing him to suck in tiny mouthfuls of the cool liquid. He wished she had used a much bigger vessel but was still unimaginably grateful for the soothing fluid trickling over his tongue. All too soon the tiny cup was emptied.

'Thank… You.' Although the water had helped to alleviate some of the dryness in his throat his mouth still felt like he'd been chewing on sawdust.

Garrus took up his former seat beside his Commander as the doctor made her way back to the foot of the bed. 'Alright. You all have a few minutes to sit with him, then I want you to clear out so he can get some rest.' She stated matter-of-factly.

'But…' Kasumi started to protest.

'No buts. Everyone needs to be out in five minutes.'

Everyone knew better than to argue with Doctor Karen Chakwas when she meant business. For nearly ten awkward seconds she glanced around at the small gathering to make eye contact with every single one of them and dare them to argue.

With no challenge forthcoming she excused herself from the room calling back over her shoulder. 'It's good to have you back Shepard.'

His only response was a small grin. Somehow his injuries always seemed far less severe when being tended to by the good doctor. It could have been the soothing tone of her voice with it's welcoming accent. It might have been the motherly way in which she instinctively knew exactly when to assert her authority or when to simply let things slide. It could have also been that she was one of his oldest and closest friends since his tour aboard both Normandy's. Or it could have simply been a combination thereof.

Garrus shuffling his chair so that Liara could perch herself on the side of the bed jarred Shepard out of his brief inward reflection. 'Nearly lost you there Shepard. Was starting to think I might actually be stuck hanging out with Joker on my free time.'

'Don't count on it big guy. You'd have cramped my style with that stick you keep up your ass.' Joker countered.

'You have style?' Liara asked in her sweetest ignorant tone.

Jack smirked. 'Ooh. Burned by the nerdy Asari. That's gotta sting.'

'Well maybe but think of it this way… Shut up.' Joker grumbled trying to deny the burn but failing completely.

Shepard couldn't help the smallest laugh at the good natured teasing although the pain it caused made him immediately regret it. Still despite his lifted spirits there was still one thing that nagged at his good mood. 'Where's… Tali?'

The lighthearted atmosphere evaporated in an instant. All eyes that had until only moments ago been directed toward the Commander now flitted nervously around the room in a vain attempt to avoid contact. He mustered all the strength he had to slightly swivel his head to look over at Garrus who was acting intensely interested in the toes of one of his boots.

'Garrus…' The Commander's tone was as even as he could make it given his current circumstances but carried with it the heartfelt plea he was asking of his best friend.

The Turian tried valiantly to evade Shepard's prodding stare but ultimately couldn't. 'She's… Out getting a little fresh air…'

Shepard's expression quickly fell as everyone assembled winced at the poor choice of words and Jack sighed under her breath. 'A Quarian went out for some fresh air? Good one dumbass.'

Kasumi desperately tried to salvage the situation by suggesting that Tali had only gone to stretch her legs after spending the last few hours at Shepard's bedside but it didn't work. The damage had already been done. As if on cue the doctor returned to shoo everyone out leaving Shepard to stare absently at the ceiling and wrestle with the implications of why Tali'Zorah of all people had seemingly forsaken him.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

2187 CE

Local Cluster

Sol System

Planet Earth

Gravel crunched under foot as the sounds of a busy plaza slowly faded away into the distance, the last vestiges of a roiling cacophony streaming away on the wind. Tali had assumed that the peace would help her to clear her head and offer her some comfort from the tumult of thoughts chaotically buzzing within her own mind but it hadn't seemed to have worked. For a moment she considered turning around and heading back down the path toward the open air marketplace that had been erected in the center of the city that she had just left behind but eventually discarded the idea. The calm, quiet serenity of the no man's land that surrounded the bustling reconstruction hub seemed almost oppressive in it's emptiness. Still the claustrophobic feeling of walls rising on all sides seemed to her to be far worse in her present state.

Earlier that morning she had declined to go out with the clean up crews again though she had regretted that decision almost immediately after making it. Even the spirit sapping task of searching through rubble for the remains of those that had't survived the final stand against the Reapers would have been preferable to aimlessly wandering through the broken down city. Alternately striding between divisions that were alive with activity and renewal before passing segments that were still nothing more than crumbling wastes. Every few blocks lay reminders of the unspeakable toll that had been wrought upon the sentient species of the galaxy. Reminders of just what had been lost in the frantic struggle for survival. Mental images of her father laying dead on the deck of the Alarei, Kal'Reegar's desiccated remains baking under Haestrom's dying sun, her Auntie Raan's Liveship being gutted by a Reaper before spiraling into the planet's atmosphere, Shepard, her Saleya, charging off into the jaws of death itself while she was whisked away to safety without him.

It made her angry. Angry that the people closest to her heart were always the most likely to toss their lives away in pursuit of some higher goal. Angry that she was constantly left to pick up the pieces and carry on while everything she knew fell to pieces around her. Angry that somehow she always ended up being drawn back in to open her heart again before realizing only too late that the affection she had hoped would last for years to come had suddenly and violently been snuffed out. Each time a tiny fragment of her soul had been torn away and cast into the void with whomever she'd lost. Shepard had been the only one to ever put his piece back. Twice.

Her thoughts briefly lifted at the idea. Throughout her adult life his loss had been the most difficult to bear. Even the death of her father had seemed infinitely less painful to carry. Still, through methods she would never be able to understand Shepard had returned to make her whole once again. He had always been her immovable support when she'd needed him most.

'So why can't I be there for him when he needs ME?' She asked herself out loud. The infuriating silence was her only answer.

Defeated and confused, she continued her walk along the cratered street, every step sending a fresh pang of guilt stabbing into her heart. Finally she'd taken as much as she could and stooped to grab a fist sized rock and hurl it back the way she'd come as she screwed her eyes shut against the frustrated tears that were beginning to form.

'What the hell is the matter with me?' She shouted after it expecting the sound of the stone clattering against the walkway to be her reply.

'You don't have very good aim for one thing…' Garrus dead panned as he walked up the street toward her. 'I hope that wasn't meant for me.'

She started at the sound of his voice as her eyes snapped open. Color flooded her cheeks from the embarrassment of knowing that someone had witnessed her emotional outburst. 'Oh… Garrus. No, I'm sorry I wasn't trying to…' She stammered awkwardly for a moment.

He held up his hands in a placating gesture. 'It's alright I was only joking. No harm done.'

She nodded in acceptance of his grace at her juvenile display and half turned away. 'I didn't realize you were back there. How long have you been following me?'

'I haven't. I was just coming to find you to tell you…' He trailed off.

'Tell me what?'

He glanced off to the side trying to avoid her gaze as an icy knot twisted in her stomach. 'He's awake…'

'But… The doctor said he wouldn't regain consciousness for at least another week… You're telling me he woke up and I… I wasn't…' Her voice began to give out as the implications of Garrus' statement hit home.

'He was looking for you… We didn't know what to tell him.' The Turian tried to keep his voice even but couldn't help the small amount of bitterness that bled into his subharmonics.

Tali bristled at his subtle accusation and rounded on him. 'What are you trying to say Vakarian?'

His eyes locked with hers. 'I'm saying that you of all people should have been there by his side. I'm saying that you're behavior is absolutely unacceptable and you should be completely ashamed of yourself.' He kept his tone calm but every syllable sent fiery brands into her already fraying temper.

Her eyes flared with outrage at the brazen attack. 'How dare you! You have no idea what this has put me through! His death affected me more than any other person alive you insensitive Bosh'Tet! Keelah he's done more for me than I could ever hope to repay with a hundred lifetimes!'

'And yet here you are. Walking alone through the wreckage of a ruined city while he lies broken and more than half dead in a hospital room. That's what you think he deserves?'

'Shut up Garrus! Just shut up and leave me alone!' She screamed and spun on her heel to stalk away but he wasn't about to let her off so easily.

'No not this time!' He shouted after her losing control of his own temper and stomping after her. 'You're not going to run away from this again! You're so quick to remind us all how much more he means to you than he does to us but I've got news for you. I've been with him since the very start too. I've seen him at his best and I've seen him at his worst just like you. I was even there on Haestrom to GET you after you turned him down on Freedom's Progress!'

She spun around causing him to stop to keep from barreling into her and threw her arms wide. 'Why do you even care Garrus? Why does any of this matter to you?' She knew the answer but couldn't think of anything else to say as her anger quickly ran out of steam.

Garrus was having no such issue. 'Why does it matter? Because that man's bled for us so many times I've lost track! Because without him we'd all be dead or worse! Because after everything he's gone through he deserves to finally have some peace! He's been our support from the very beginning but like it or not you've always been his! We've all lost someone and we all have baggage that's probably going to haunt us for the rest of our lives but that's no excuse to freeze out the only person who ever gave a damn!'

She shrank back from his ongoing tirade and hugged her arms tightly around her middle knowing he was completely right. 'I'm just scared Garrus…' Her voice was weak and shaky. 'I never wanted him to give so much of himself up for me… Keelah I never wanted it to be like this.'

Garrus' eyes were still hard but his posture relaxed slightly. 'Well it is like this, but every decision he made was his to make and I promise you that he hasn't regretted a single one where you were involved. So now you have your own choice to make. Are you going to let your fear of loss win and abandon him to protect yourself from letting him in again? Or are you going to step up and be there for him when he needs you most?' He didn't wait for a reply before turning to make his way back toward town leaving her alone once more.

She stared icy daggers at the back of the retreating Turian until he was nothing more than a speck in the distance. She knew deep down that he was completely right but she was still furious with him regardless. She wearily stepped over to the burned out husk of an APC before leaning heavily against it and slumping unceremoniously to the ground.

Of all people she should have been there by Shepard's side just like he'd always been for her but her own fear of loss had gotten the best of her. As soon as he'd reached the closely guarded Alliance medical facility in which he new resided, she'd distanced herself in an attempt to protect herself in the event that he still didn't pull through. She was unimaginably happy to see him alive after the grief she had experienced losing him a second time. Yet somehow her elation had been quickly overshadowed by the inescapable anxiety of knowing that it might all still be some sick dream playing out in her traumatized psyche. None of the crew aboard the Normandy were exempt from the horrors that they'd all witnessed over the past few years, including her, but it had taken the harsh words of Garrus Vakarian to splash the metaphorical cold water on her face and convince her that she didn't have a monopoly on hard times.

She absently played with a discarded thermal clip on the cold cement next to her as she contemplated how she would explain herself to Shepard. Had their positions been reversed she knew she would feel deeply hurt and betrayed by what she would have perceived as a lack of concern. After several minutes of procrastinating in an attempt to delay the uncomfortable conversation she was committed to having with her Kaleya she finally picked herself up and ambled back the way Garrus had come. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts that the shadowy figure prowling some distance behind her completely escaped her notice.

The walk back to the hospital seemed to stretch on for hours even though she knew it had only taken about fifteen minutes. Each step closer felt drastically heavier than the last. The weight of her worry about what Shepard's response would be seemed to drag at her limbs as she dutifully continued on. Only her own feeble self assurances that he would understand and forgive her imagined apathy kept her feet moving at all. She had barely rehearsed what she would say to him twice before the shattered glass front of the hospital slowly crept into view. She paused for a moment to collect her courage and say a silent prayer to her ancestors before willing her body to continue on. Her hooded pursuer watched with keen interest as she stopped to provide her ID to the Alliance guards posted at the checkpoint allowing access into the ruined building's interior before slinking out of sight.

If the walk to the medical facility was long and arduous then the lift ride up to the Commander's room was utter torture. Every inch the elevator crawled skyward seemed to take an eternity yet it reached Shepard's floor before her brain could even process that she was moving. For a split second her subconscious screamed at her to hit the button to descend back down to the ground level and put off the conversation she was dreading until tomorrow. Fortunately for her Kasumi had been waiting for the very same lift to arrive and lit up like a like a fireworks display when she saw the Quarian nervously wringing her hands within.

'Tali!' The master thief practically bounced as she grabbed one her friend's three fingered hands. 'It's about time, I didn't know how much longer I was going to be able to stall him!'

'Well… I'm here now.' Tali hung her head at Kasumi's casual reference to her absence.

The petite Japanese woman immediately recognized her mistake. 'Oh no, sweetie I didn't mean it like that…'

'It's ok Kas. I deserved it… Is he awake?'

The thief's face brightened again. 'He is. Actually he's been an unholy terror for most of the day. No one expected him to be as… Coherent as he is after only a week of being in the hospital and only just waking up two days ago. I'm just on my way out to bring him back some chocolate.'

'Make sure to bring him the sweet stuff. He tries to say he likes dark chocolate more because he thinks it makes him seem more refined or something.' Tali cautioned, briefly forgetting her apprehension in the glow of Kasumi's infectiously positive mood.

'Oh my gosh that is so adorable! Keiji was exactly the same way with… Well anyway, milk chocolate it is. Did you want me to grab anything for you while I'm out?'

More by instinctive reaction than by lack of necessity Tali immediately declined the offer.

'Ok hun. I'll just be a little while…' Kasumi's voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. 'Go slow with him and don't take much of what he says at first too personally. He hasn't been sleeping very well.'

Tali mutely nodded her understanding as the insufferable butterflies she'd been battling on the long walk to the hospital.

The thief picked up on the slight shift in her body language. 'Everything is going to turn out ok. Trust the feelings both of you share.'

'Thank you Kas.' Tali responded before pulling her friend into a quick hug.

'You'll do fine. I'll see you in a bit.'

With jarring finality the doors to the lift closed behind Kasumi leaving Tali alone in the hall leading to Shepard's room. With one final deep breath to steady her nerves she made her way down the corridor to where her Kaleya waited. The door was closed to allow him some measure of privacy, although there hadn't really been much need as the entire floor had already been emptied for the duration of the Commander's recovery. She reached up with one trembling hand to lightly knock twice.

'No thank you, I've had enough pokes and prods for today.' Came the snarky, muffled response from the other side.

For a brief moment she considered taking the final opportunity to escape but almost instantly discarded it again. 'It's Tali.' She quietly called out.

For nearly twenty agonizing seconds she didn't hear a sound. She was on the verge of saying it again fearing that he hadn't heard her when he finally spoke again. '…Come in.'

She keyed open the frosted glass sliding doors and stepped inside, her stomach lurching as she strode across the threshold. At first she couldn't even see him due to the banks of monitors crammed into either side of his bed. Normally the room might have even felt open and spacious but the sheer amount of equipment claiming nearly every available free space made it feel incredibly cramped. She gingerly tip toed over all manner of cables in her short trek to the foot of his bed.

'H… Hey.' She greeted nervously knotting her fingers around one another.

'Hey.' He replied flatly.

His voice still lacked any of it's former strength but his icy tone still stung. She did her best to simply absorb it and move past. 'You look much better… I mean than when I found you not than you did before… Not that you didn't already look really good to start with… I just well…' She could feel herself rambling but was having a great deal of trouble making herself stop. Eventually she exerted enough control to calm herself and lapse into an uncomfortable silence.

'So… I thought I would see you sooner.'

She thought she saw his eyes narrow almost imperceptibly. Although it was difficult for her to tell with the oxygen mask and bandages covering his face. She stood transfixed unable to think of anything to say, all of her carefully rehearsed responses vacated her mind at once like a flock of birds suddenly taking flight.

'I… I know I… Well…'

He let out a heavy sigh. 'Why don't you pull up a chair?'

'Oh ok. Sure. That is if you want me to… I don't want to bother you if…' She started to stammer again.

'I asked you didn't I?'

'R…Right. Thank you.' She hurriedly pulled one of the chairs off to his left closer to the bedside and took a seat. She sat with her back ramrod straight, her hands tightly clasped in her lap, her eyes darted about trying desperately to avoid his.

'So?'

She finally returned his gaze. 'So… I don't really know what to say… I wanted to be here. I needed to be here… But I wasn't. I don't know how to explain why I wasn't. I guess… I guess I was just afraid and didn't know how to deal with it.'

'I've been there.' He murmured almost more to himself than to her. 'I didn't know what to think when I woke up and didn't see you here.'

'I know and please believe me that I didn't want to hurt you. It was just so much to take. First being convinced that you were dead, coming back to look for your body and actually finding you barely still alive. I didn't know how I should feel…' She paused to collect her thoughts before continuing on. 'I was overjoyed that I'd found you but I was terrified that I still might lose you. Like it was all just some dream that I could wake up from at any moment. I'm just… I'm so sorry Shepard. I love you so much but keelah I was so caught up in my own garbage. I need you… Please don't send me away.'

His mask shifted slightly as his eyebrows furrowed in the subtle approximation of a confused look. 'Send you away? Tali what are you talking about?'

'I… Well I thought that…'

'Is that really what you thought was going to happen?' He asked letting a slight edge of humor color his tone.

She grabbed at the shift in his mood like a drowning victim reaching for a life saving rope. 'So you're not upset with me?'

'Oh. Yeah I am. I'm not going to lie I felt a little betrayed and it's still pretty fresh… But you must be completely out of your mind if you think I'm going watch the best thing to ever happen to me walk out that door because of that.' She thought she could see the barest hint of a smile curl the corners of his lips behind the semi-transparent material of his oxygen mask. 'Especially not after how many times I've nearly died trying to save her.'

'Almost as many time as I've been shot protecting you.' She cautiously quipped as she reached out to take his hand being careful not to bump the intravenous lines embedded in his skin.

He gave her fingers a tiny squeeze. 'That's up for debate… For now it's good to have you back.'

'I should be the one saying that to you… I'm never going to leave your side again.'

'Good.' He whispered quietly. 'I love you.'

'I love you too. Now get some sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up.' She urged.

He smiled weakly. 'Yes ma'am.' His eyelids started to droop as he finally allowed the painkillers and antibiotics in his system to override his efforts to stay conscious.

She stared intently down at him as his breathing slowed and peacefully drifted off to sleep. It broke her heart to see him brought so low but she knew all he needed was time and TLC. Both of which she was determined he would receive. She momentarily withdrew her hand to settle into a more comfortable position and pull up a book on her omni-tool's holographic display. She reached out to place her hand on his once again but stopped as his eyes snapped open. Somewhere below them the muted chatter of automatic weapons fire was punctuated by the sharp crack of a grenade detonation.


	5. Chapter 4

***AN* Just wanted to put out a quick thank you out there to everyone that's stuck with it this far, and especially the kind words I've received from a bunch of you already. Your posts spur me on to continue delving further into this story. I appreciate you and your feedback more than anything. Thank you and enjoy!**

Chapter 4

2187 CE

Local Cluster

Sol System

Planet Earth

Utter chaos reigned in the ground level of St. Marks infirmary. Assault rifles fired in uncontrolled bursts, shotguns boomed with echoing reports, and sidearms barked filling the air with white hot projectiles. Somewhere a man screamed just before one of the grenades on his vest went off consuming him and the squad nearest him in a roiling fireball. Elsewhere the captain of the guard tried to shout out orders in a vain attempt to arrest the panicked actions of his charges. In one corner a young man sat huddled against the wall mutely rocking back and forth. His eyes screwed tightly shut and his hands clamped over his ears in a desperate bid to shut out the nightmare around him. Everywhere the atmosphere was filled with the horrible screams of the dying, the unbearable scent of burning flesh, and a smoky haze like fog that hung heavily in the building's war torn main lobby.

It was this hell that second lieutenant Peter Moroes now found himself hopelessly immersed in. At first he had believed the commotion to be the result of some structural collapse in the building, or some nobody reporter being apprehended trying to get access to the Commander upstairs. He'd heard the shouts coming from outside as he sat comfortably in the washroom, casually flipping through the pages of an outdated issue of Fornax. Initially he had ignored the ruckus in favor of his guilty pleasure. A scantily clad female Turian seductively lounging on the hood of a luxury sky car staring out of the water damaged page at him. Then he'd heard gunfire. Extremely close gunfire.

It took him a few seconds to register what he was actually hearing before he clumsily scrambled out of the stall he had been occupying and grabbed his weapon that lay propped against the wall. He nearly fell flat on his face trying to pull his uniform trousers back up from around his ankles while simultaneously trying to re-clip his combat vest and holler out over his team's comm frequency for a status report even though no one seemed to have heard his call. He knew he was going to catch an earful from his squad mates when they found the discarded alien pornographic magazine on the dingy floor of the wash room but wasn't about to go back to retrieve it with sounds of battle so nearby. He had sprinted down the soot stained hallway and veered toward the front of the building before charging through the archway linking the main lobby to the east wing of the hospital.

The scene that greeted him had stopped him cold. The entire guard detail that had been commissioned to protect the wounded and specifically Commander Shepard, were wildly firing in all directions from sheer panic. Many were already dead or dying in growing pools of their own blood. Some were no more than messy heaps of meat splattered across the floor. The rest were either shooting randomly at anything that moved or were fleeing altogether. His first thought at seeing the carnage was that somehow a group of the Reapers had survived the Crucible blast and were now loose in the city. His second was to run.

He turned to bolt back down the way he'd come when he felt something hit him from behind and wrap around his legs. He tumbled to the ground, his gun skittering out of his grasp across the broken marble floor. He rolled onto his side to snatch his combat knife from it's perch over his left breast and reached down to free himself of whatever had ensnared his lower body. A dense mesh of incredibly thin, threadlike strands was wound tightly around his legs from his ankles to just above his knees. He shifted to bring his knife to bear feeling the constricting tangle tighten with every move he made. He strained against the first bundle of filaments with his blade and was rewarded with a satisfying twang as several of the tiny threads broke. However his small victory was short lived as the hundreds of remaining cords sawed through his trousers and started to bite into his skin. He gritted his teeth and set his knife's edge against another cluster of strands.

As he did a he heard a pulpy coughing sound from somewhere above him and felt another of the infernal nets hit his left side. He tried to roll away but the motion caused a fresh wave of pure agony to lance up through his legs and the ensnaring fibers along his left side to drape themselves over the rest of his torso. With growing dread he started to realize his rapidly degenerating situation. He struggled against the sinuous mass desperately trying to free himself, his movements becoming more panicked with every passing moment. He screamed in sheer terror and blinding pain as his own wild thrashing worked the infernal filaments ever deeper. Within seconds he was nothing more than an indistinguishable pile of bloody ruin like the other poor souls scattered amidst the carnage of the hospital's main lobby.

*Meanwhile*

Tali jumped to her feet and unslung her shotgun from it's magnetic catches on the back of her suit. She glanced down at the Commander before opening her comm to send out a wide beam transmission to the security detail guarding the building.

'Hello is everyth…' She started to speak before the frantic cry of a terrified man cut her off.

'They're inside! We need backup now! Someone cover that fucking door, don't let them through! Does anyone copy? This is Platoon Commander Reynolds at St. Marks infirmary! I repeat we are under heavy attack and need immediate GAAGH!'

The transmission abruptly ended. For a brief moment Tali swayed on unsteady feet as visions of shambling horrors with empty emotionless faces erupted from the very shadows around her. She shook her head to clear it of the traumatic memories that swam unbidden through her conscious mind.

'Not now…' She growled to herself trying to rebury the ghosts that haunted her.

'What's going on?' Shepard asked as the sounds of battle below them intensified.

She'd forgotten that he couldn't hear the distress call. 'I'm not sure. We're under attack but the comms just cut out.' She chewed her lower lip in momentary indecision. 'I should go see if I can help somehow… But I don't want to leave you up here alone.'

She hadn't meant any offense but she could see her reference to his current vulnerability irked him. 'It's up to you… I'm in no position to give you decent advice.' He grudgingly admitted.

She hesitated again trying to convince herself either choice was in some way superior to the other. Fortunately for her the timely arrival of Doctor Chakwas ended up solving her dilemma for her.

The doctor was obviously out of breath from running but still managed to speak between gasps. A shallow gash near the edge of her scalp wept a steady stream of blood down between her eyes and off to the side of her nose. 'We need… To unhook him… From these machines…'

Tali's brows knit together with worry. 'Is he recovered enough to move?'

'No choice… The security detail isn't… Going to hold… We need to get him… Out of here.'

Shepard nodded weakly and started trying to raise his hand to remove his oxygen mask. The doctor quickly reached out to stop him. 'No! You just try to stay… As still as possible. Tali I need your… Help to get him unplugged…'

Without needing any further invitation Tali stowed her weapon and moved to the Commander's bedside to help unhook him. It didn't take more than two minutes but to all three of them it seemed like it was taking hours. Especially with the frantic noises below growing ever louder. At last he was finally free of most everything save a select few devices that ran off an auxiliary power supply in his hospital bed itself.

'Which way?' Tali asked the doctor as they started to wheel Shepard's bed out into the hallway.

'To the right. There's another lift toward the back of the building.'

Tali nodded as she unslung her shotgun once again as she led the way down the corridor. Her omni-tool blazed to life on her left arm bathing the hallway in an amber glow as she activated the sequence to construct her attack drone behind them and cover them from behind as they made their escape.

'Left here, and then your first right.' The doctor called forward doing her best not to jostle the Commander's bed.

They reached the lift and Tali immediately punched the glowing green display to summon the elevator. After an agonizingly slow wait the lift car arrived at their floor and the door slid noisily open on lightly warped mechanisms. Tali went in first before moving to set their destination but the doctor stopped her.

'No. We're going to the roof.' She instructed as she backed the Commander's bed into the oversized lift.

Tali pressed the holographic selector representing the top floor but cocked her head in confusion as she turned back to her companions. 'Why? I thought there was an exit in the back too.'

The doctor nodded. 'There is, but we cannot afford to get that close to the fighting. I've already contacted Kasumi, and Garrus. Hopefully we'll have a shuttle waiting for us when we get there.'

'Who's behind this?' Shepard asked craning his neck as much as he could so he could see the doctor. 'Did some of the Reapers survive or is it one of the other species? Maybe Cerberus?'

Doctor Chakwas shook her head. 'I don't know any of the details Shepard. I was on the second floor when it started.'

'Are you alright? We should treat that wound.' Tali gestured toward the rapidly swelling split on the doctor's forehead.

Again the doctor shook her head. 'We can worry about it once we're safely away from here. How are you doing Comman…' She started to inquire before the lift ground to a jarring halt and the lights cut out.

'Shit…' The Commander swore into the darkness.

'I'll try to get it moving again.' Tali said as she laid her shotgun on the bed next to Shepard and flipped on her omni-tool's flashlight.

She quickly found a maintenance access panel underneath where the elevator's holographic controls normally hovered. She peeled back the thin metal plate covering the delicate machinery beneath and set to work creating a bypass of the building's primary power grid while jury rigging the lift to use her omni-tool as a power source instead. She knew the going would be painfully slow and that her tool would likely be completely fried by the time they reached the top but no other solutions seemed viable in their current situation.

As she dug into the mechanisms she heard the Commander say something behind her. 'What was that Shepard?

'I said there's no noise.' He repeated cryptically.

She hadn't noticed as she'd been solely focused on their venue of escape but he was right. Apart from the steady rhythm of their breathing and her own rapidly elevating pulse thudding between her ears, there was only silence. The staccato beat of gunfire, the frantic shouts, the rumbling boom of explosives, all had been stilled. Without a word she redoubled her efforts on the lift's mechanisms.

Her fingers expertly wove their way through the tangle of wires and conduits, severing connections before reforming them in different combinations. She had just spliced the last two naked contacts together when a sound that made every inch of her suit covered skin crawl whispered through her audio pickups.

'… What is that?' The doctor nervously asked no one in particular as the distinct reverberation of something scratching along the outer shell of their lift car filled the claustrophobic darkness.

To Tali it sounded for all the world like the skittering claws of Rachni workers prowling through the vents in the Peak 15 research facility back on Noveria. She involuntarily shivered.

'Tali… I think it's time we got this bucket going.' Shepard advised. His voice as cool and composed as ever but with the slightest hint of nervous edge.

'Yes. I think you're right.' She agreed quickly pulling up her omni-tool's interface to feed power into the lift's systems.

For several panic inducing seconds nothing happened but eventually the car's holographic display weakly flickered into existence as the lift once again started to slowly ascend although the lights remained stubbornly dark. The trio would have all breathed a sigh of relief but the unnerving scraping outside intensified with the jolting movement.

'How far are we?' Shepard asked unable to sit up to see the display for himself.

'Two more levels.' Tali responded as she silently pleaded for the elevator to move faster.

All three lapsed into a tense silence as they waited for the barely moving lift to finally complete it's journey to their destination while their imaginations ran amuck with whatever was lurking on the top of their car. Unfortunately whatever mental pictures their anxious minds projected were quickly chased away by the real thing. With a shriek of tortured metal their antagonizer started to force it's way inside through the ceiling of the lift. They all stared in shocked horror at the rapidly widening breach in their transport's lightweight alloy shell illuminated by the dim amber glow emanating from Tali's omni-tool. Within only a few heartbeats a gaping fissure almost four feet long had been torn into the ceiling as either side of the ragged tear were peeled back like the rind of an overripe fruit.

Tali could hear the doctor's breath hitch as a cold lump formed in the pit of her own stomach. A set of four glossy eyes stared down at them from the inky blackness beyond the pitiful light cast by her omni-tool. The impulse to reach for her weapon hadn't even translated into movement before the creature had plunged through the jagged opening and vaulted toward the Commander in an impossibly fast blur.

The tiny space was filled with the blinding flare of the shotgun's muzzle flash accompanied by the thundering boom of it's single discharge followed only milliseconds later by the clattering reverberation of it's metallic frame striking the floor and the pulpy wet smack of a small body doing the same. Tali blinked away the irritating afterimages that continued to swim through her vision as she tried to re-orient herself.

'Keelah…' Tali exhaled as she shakily shuffled to the side of the Commander's bed. 'Are you alright Shepard?'

'I'm… Still in one piece.' He replied through clenched teeth.

Doctor Chakwas made her way to the other side of his bed and handed the discarded shotgun she'd retrieved from behind it back to Tali. 'What was that?'

'I'm… Not sure. Is it still alive?' Shepard asked trying to adjust so he could see where it had landed.

Once again the doctor stopped him. 'Tali would you be so kind?' She asked as she pulled up her own omni-tool to take a series of readings on the Commander's condition.

She huffed in irritation when she spotted a new injury to add to his already lengthy laundry list as Tali reluctantly rounded the end of the bed with her shotgun held ready to blast the creature to atoms if it so much as quivered. To her relief it was never going to be moving under it's own power again, to her annoyance it had ignited from within and had already started to crumble to ashes sending a thin wisp of acrid smoke into the air.

'Well… It's definitely dead.' She deadpanned.

'What is it, a Rachni?' The Commander asked as the doctor administered a dose of medigel and painkillers to combat the effects of his newly fracture left arm.

Tali shook her head. 'I don't think so. I'm not really sure what it was.' She admitted stepping back away from the smoldering remains and returning her attention to the readout on her omni-tool displaying their lift car's progress. 'We're almost there. Just a few more feet.'

The distant rustle of dozens more creatures skittering up the confines of the elevator shaft drifted in through the opening left by the first.

'Any way to make it go faster?' Shepard asked trying to fight the tranquilizing effect of the painkillers in his bloodstream.

Tali glanced at the display hovering over her left arm trying to find an answer she already knew. Her tool was on the verge of burnout and was already taxed to the limit just getting the bulky lift to ascend at all. The echo of their assailants scraping footsteps grew ever louder as they neared the bottom of the lift car. With no other option left Tali reached down to sever the power feed from her overworked omni-tool and reconstruct her attack drone Chitika to block the ragged split in the ceiling. Her finger stopped only centimeters away when the lift finally ground to a halt and the doors lazily slid aside at a snail's pace. The steadily widening shaft of natural light that spilled into the interior of their lift car was undoubtedly the most beautiful thing that any of them could ever recall seeing. Tali whirled to point her weapon at the hole above them as the excruciatingly slow doors finally opened far enough for the doctor to wheel Shepard out onto the roof.

Tali's eyes never wavered from the jagged hole as she cautiously backpedaled out of the lift following the doctor and her Kaleya, her body's every reflex ready to pump round after round of shotgun fire into anything that showed it's face to her. None of them did. As she cleared the threshold to step onto the broken roof's uneven surface she reached out with her left arm to overload the door's circuitry. Thereby causing the hatch to automatically snap shut and lock itself down preventing any further pursuit. Or so they had thought.

Barely a heartbeat after the door had closed they could clearly hear the sounds of their pursuers throwing themselves against the thin metal barrier. Tali anxiously searched for their only means of escape. The shuttle that the doctor had promised was nowhere to be seen.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

2187 CE  
>Local Cluster<br>Sol System  
>Planet Earth<p>

A faint breeze cascaded over the jagged London skyline carrying with it the earthy aroma of wet soil but doing nothing to peel back the low ceiling of light grey clouds that blanketed the sky. Tiny sprinkles of rain could be felt lightly pattering against any exposed skin like a barrage of infinitesimal icy pin pricks. Normally the muted hum of activity from the nearby trade hub a few blocks away would drift past on the gentle wind lending the city a cool, peaceful atmosphere. On this day however the usually relaxing effect had been utterly shattered by the assault being carried out on St. Mark's Infirmary.

Lucian Shepard impotently clenched his fists in equal parts pain and frustration. He could hear the violent pounding of the homicidal beasts trying to tear their way through the door but was completely powerless to do anything but lay on his hospital bed to watch them do it. He had only felt that weak and vulnerable one other time in his life. That had been the day he died in the skies over Alchera.

"Relax Commander. You're putting more stress on the fracture." The doctor scolded as she fussed over his newly broken radius.

"Relax? Karen, how the hell am I…" He started to argue.

She cut him off almost immediately. "Don't start Shepard. I know where we are and what's happening but right now I need you to try and stay calm." Her tone softened somewhat as she pulled up another diagnostic on her omni-tool. "You're barely holding together as it is… Not to mention the damage you did to yourself firing a heavy shotgun one handed."

"It was either that or have my face bitten off by lord only knows what. In this case the arm seemed like the lesser of two evils." He responded sarcastically although his voice lacked any of the levity he was trying to project.

"They're almost through!" Tali yelled bringing their attention back to the situation at hand.

Slender, blade like claws pierced the lightweight door in rapid fire succession leaving scores of jagged splits in it's metallic skin as they quickly ripped it to shreds. Baleful empty eyes and glistening obsidian fangs flashed through the ragged openings offering only fleeting glimpses of the terrors barely contained on the other side. The trio were so engrossed by the immediate threat in front of them that the fevered scratching below them went completely unnoticed.

"The shuttle will be here any moment. We just need to hold them back for a few seconds!" Doctor Chakwas hollered to Tali trying to be heard over the din at the door.

"I'm open to suggestions!" Tali shouted back. Her finger tightening around the trigger of her firearm.

"Pray for a miracle and don't stop shooting…" Was all the Commander could think to say even though neither of the two women had heard him.

The shotgun boomed and belched a thick cloud of slugs into the ruined tatters of the door just as it finally buckled outward. She pumped the slide to chamber another round and fired again, then another. The first wave of monstrosities was torn to shreds by the initial salvo and hurled back into the darkness behind. Smoke began to billow out of the ruined doorway almost instantaneously as their bodies self ignited. Tali continued to pour round after round into the damaged lift car until her shotgun's thermal capacity redlined and fouled the feeding mechanisms. As she ejected it's spent thermal clip and slapped her only spare into place a sickening cough sounded from within the roiling plume. A spongy mass rocketed out of the acrid cloud and heavily impacted her right hip before wrapping part way around her abdomen. She sent another stream of projectiles hammering through the smoldering vapor in response.

With one final thundering bark the shotgun fell silent. It's internal components half melted from the near constant rate of fire. Shepard watched in horror as Tali threw the useless weapon away and started forward drawing her sidearm.

"Tali!" He weakly tried to call after her but she either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him.

He tried again but still without success as she waded into the carnage she'd wrought intent on blocking the way for whatever beasts still lurked out of sight. She was so close and yet he couldn't do anything to stop her. With few other options left save watching his Saleya walk alone into the jaws of death, Shepard mustered every ounce of what little strength he still possessed and channeled it all into the parade ground bark he'd perfected during his days in the N7 program.

He reached up with his functioning right hand to rip the oxygen mask off his face. "Tali'Zorah stand down!"

She hesitated but didn't turn around.

"Stand down NOW!"

Her shoulders slumped and her head bowed. "No… This time it's my turn Kaleya." She whispered to herself taking another step forward.

The dull roar of their salvation's thrusters rapidly approaching filled the air as time itself seemed to grind to an excruciatingly slow crawl yet everything happened in the blink of an eye. A small hand seized Tali by the arm and roughly pulled her backward away from the turbulent inky black cloud while at the same time another reached out to snatch the pistol out of her grasp. The shuttle touched down in the same instant accompanied by shouts from Cortez, Garrus, and Kasumi. A hail of bullets converged on the ruined elevator shaft as Tali was violently shoved back toward Shepard's gurney, Doctor Chakwas taking her place. She yelled something he couldn't understand to the Quarian as she turned to awkwardly fire into the boiling cloud. Globs of whatever had hit Tali spewed out in response alongside the beasts themselves as they suicidally flung themselves into the wall of projectiles. Every single one barely more than a blazing fireball of flailing scythe like limbs and gnashing teeth as they streaked out onto the gravel rooftop before being cut down by expertly aimed gunfire.  
>Chaos erupted all around as Shepard felt someone grab hold of the handles on the back of his bed and yank him toward the waiting transport. He could see Tali stumble toward them as she half turned to shout something back at Doctor Chakwas. He saw Karen take one last shot before she too whirled to follow after Tali. He felt the padded suspension of his hospital bed jolt as it was dragged over the lip of the shuttle's port exit hatch. Tali leaped into the cramped interior beside him with the Doctor only several yards behind her. The vertical rockets on the belly of their craft roared as it started to lift off. The Commander's heart soared as he watched his friend clear the last few feet separating her from safety. They were all going to make it.<p>

Then the floor fell out from beneath her. She desperately reached out for the hands extended to pull her inside but fell only inches short as her last step found only empty air. Her eyes locked with his for an instant before she disappeared from view into the yawning maw opening up below, the shuttle's howling thrusters overwhelming her terrified scream.

"NO!" Shepard yelled as their craft pulled up and started to bank away. "She's still down there! Take us back!"

"Negative Commander. There's too many of them." Cortez hollered from the cockpit.

"Is there any way to drop us off? We can try to get her out." Garrus tried as he nodded to Kasumi. He always had the Commander's back.

Again the shuttle pilot shook his head. "Thermal readings say half the building is already starting to burn… There's no way you'd be able to get out in time." His voice started to sound thick as a lump rose in his throat.

Garrus laid a heavy armored hand on the Commander's shoulder. His predator's eyes glazing over with moisture as the shuttle's hatch slid shut with soul sapping finality. "… I'm sorry Shepard."

The Commander screwed his own eyes shut against the dampness forming in their corners. He couldn't accept it. He would't. She couldn't just be another pointless casualty in the never-ending conflict that perpetually haunted his existence. Another of his closest friends, his family, giving everything they would ever be in the foolish pursuit of saving his life. He tried to convince himself that it all must have been another horrific nightmare. A trick played on him by his own traumatized consciousness that he would soon wake up from. He fervently wished it were only that easy.

2187 CE  
>Local Cluster<br>Sol System  
>Geosynchronous Orbit Over Planet Earth<p>

The cold empty void of space had always been somewhat of a safe haven for Commander Lucian Shepard since before he could even remember. Somehow the vast darkness seemed to provide a warped sense of escape when he really needed one. A way to avoid confronting the demons that constantly plagued his every free thought. Demons like Mindoir, Akuze, Virmire, and now Earth. Now however all he could think of as he looked out into the frigid dark from the observation window in his personal quarters aboard the HMCS Logan was how many faces he was never going to see again. Instead of the promise of freedom to leave his grief behind, he felt even more trapped by it. Even more alone.

A pair of three fingered hands lightly rested on his shoulders from behind. "Well… Not completely alone." He murmured to himself.

"What?" Tali asked gently twisting his wheel chair around so he would face her.

"Nothing. Is he ready for us?"

"You. He wanted to interrogate you alone." She corrected allowing an edge to plainly be heard in her voice.

He sighed and smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles in his dress uniform for the hundredth time. "I know. I would have thought he'd be more accommodating too given our current circumstances and my… Condition. But I'm still part of the Alliance chain of command for the time being. I owe Anderson that much at least."

She crossed her arms in defiance. "But Admiral Hackett owes you even more. The very least he could do is to allow you a little more time to recuperate before dragging you into an interrogation room. Especially after everything you've done! After everything you've been through!"

"I felt the same way the day of your trial. You know as well as I do that neither of us is capable of ignoring the responsibilities we have to our people."

"That's true but…" She wanted to argue but she knew he was right.

He caught the defeated slump in her shoulders and reached out with his good arm to take her hand. "Look… A lot's happened since I've been missing. I'm sure he has quite a few questions and so do I. I'll make my report and then see about requesting a leave of absence to heal. Who knows, he might even be able to explain what the hell happened down in that hospit…" The words caught in his throat as a brief flash of Karen Chakwas' desperate green eyes forced it's way into his vision.

Tali clutched his hand and knelt down in front of him as she lightly brushed the fingers of her free hand against his scarred cheek. "It wasn't your fault Kaleya… If anything it's mine. If I had only listened to you…"

He gently shook his head. "You did what you did trying to protect me… I don't blame you for that. Especially since I would have made the exact same choice if I'd been in your position… It's just… Hard to lose someone this way…"

"I know… No one understands that better than me. I just want you to know that… I'm here Shepard. Whenever you need me." She leaned forward to touch the crown of her visor to his forehead before standing to take her place behind his chair and help wheel him to the Admiral's office.

"I always need you." He murmured to himself although she still heard it.

"That makes two of us." She whispered softly.

The journey through the HMCS Logan was mercifully brief even despite the fact that it was the largest Alliance Dreadnaught in what remained of the fleet. It was also the newest. As Tali glided him through the labyrinthine network of passages and corridors he was struck by just how pristine the interior of the ship was. No missing bulkhead panels, no sparking wires, no scorch marks or even chipped paint. He knew that the Logan had been one of the last vessels to arrive during the assault to retake Earth as it was one of the ships escorting the all important Crucible. Still it's immaculate condition disturbed him for reasons he couldn't quite put his finger on. Possibly due to the fact that he and his team had been exposed and forced to endure deplorable conditions during the war with the Reapers so being aboard a perfectly stocked and maintained boat somehow felt odd. Another possibility might have been that it felt like a king's chariot. A raised ornate platform from which a leader could order his armies into battle from relative safety and without needing to sully his own hands in the mire of real conflict. Either way Shepard didn't like it.

As they neared the bow of the ship he was also struck by how empty the ship seemed. They had been working their way through the massive craft for almost seven minutes but had only seen half a dozen people at most.

"Where is everyone?" Tali wondered aloud putting words to his own thoughts.

"Assigned to other ships and stations to help with rebuilding maybe. Still, I would have thought a ship this size would need more staff just to function… A lot more."

"I guess you can add that to the list of questions you have for Hackett." She suggested as they finally approached the security checkpoint leading into the Admiral's office.

A trio of armed guards stepped up to block their way but simultaneously saluted as one. He crisply returned the salute although he had to admit it felt strange doing so from a wheelchair.

"Commander Shepard sir! It's an honor to have you aboard!" The young man in the lead barked keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead.

The Commander dropped his hand and nodded his appreciation. "Thank you Lieutenant. At ease."

All three dropped their salutes in unison before stepping forward to shake the Commander's hand in turn. All wishing him a speedy recovery and expressing their gratitude for his actions during the Reaper invasion and subsequent counteroffensive to reclaim Earth. He happily chatted with each of them for a few moments before a nudge from Tali reminded him what they had originally been summoned for. He had a habit of losing track of time when speaking to fellow soldiers of any species.

"Ah right. I shouldn't keep the Admiral waiting."

"Of course Commander. Sorry for taking so much of your time. Let me just run your credentials through the system real quick, and then I'll escort you inside." The stone faced woman behind the Lieutenant explained as she pulled up an application on her omni-tool to verify his identity.

"Much appreciated. Though I think my companion is more than capable." He responded with a hint of challenge.

The woman's hard expression dropped slightly. "My apologies sir. Admiral Hackett insisted that you be debriefed in private. She's welcome to wait here for you until you're done."

Tali placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's ok. I'll be here when you get out."

He sighed but decided not to press the issue. "Alright. Let's get this done."

"Yes sir." The woman's omni-tool display winked out in sympathy with a flick of her finger as she took Tali's place behind his chair.

As she pushed him past he caught the subtle looks of disdain on the faces of the other two guards as they looked toward the Quarian they had been forced to babysit.

He raised his unencumbered right hand to halt his escort. "Oh Lieutenant?"

"Yes sir?"

"I trust you'll treat my companion with the same courtesy and respect you showed me."

The Lieutenant's face started to redden as he answered. Whether from irritation or embarrassment was anyone's guess. "Absolutely Commander."

He let his hand fall into his lap again as his attendant pushed him through the door to the admiral's work space and the solid plane of electric blue light just beyond that served as both a weapons detector and decontamination unit. Compared to the relatively harsh lighting in the rest of the ship, the illumination in the office far more subdued which was absolutely enormous. The cavernous space easily large enough to fit two of the Normandy's CICs side by side and with a vaulted ceiling to boot. To the left was an extensive network of display cases inlaid into the bulkhead with a series of dimly glowing accent lights wired into each one to blanket the treasures stored therein with warm radiance. To the right were several cases mirroring the other side separated by life size headless mannequins that proudly wore the Admiral's retired uniforms. Each of them heavily adorned with the myriad of medals Hackett had accrued during his many years of distinguished service. One aggressively posed mannequin even sported an old, much abused set of combat armor. Dominating the center of the room was a deep mahogany stained maple wood desk nearly as wide as the Commander's quarters on the Normandy had been long. Multiple holographic projectors that continuously emitted a dazzling light show of information were seamlessly recessed into it's rich, smooth upper surface. An immense window with a spectacular view of Earth comprised the entirety of the office's far wall. A view nearly identical to the one Shepard had witnessed as David Anderson bled to death beside him on the Citadel.

He suppressed the pang of sorrow that ached in his chest as his escort wheeled him to the leading edge of the desk. "Admiral. Commander Shepard is here to see you."

Hackett didn't turn from his place at the window. "Thank you Ensign that'll be all."  
>"Yes sir." She dutifully saluted and withdrew leaving the two men alone in the cavernous office.<p>

Shepard respectfully waited for his superior to break the silence. When no greeting seemed forthcoming he decided to get things started himself. He'd never been good at waiting.

"Admiral Hackett. Commander Lucian Shepard reporting sir." He sat as straight as possible as be brought his fingers up to rest just forward of his right temple.

Finally the Admiral turned to regard him and tossed him a casual salute in return. "At ease Shepard. There's no need for that kind of formality here." A slight grin curled the corner of his mouth. "You don't look half bad all things considered."

"I wish I could agree sir. I still feel like hammered shit." Shepard responded bluntly.

That earned a small chuckle from the older man. "Taking a hit from one of those devils, surviving the detonation of the Crucible, and then nearly starving to death in the month it took your people to find you? It's a wonder you can feel like anything at all."

The Commander nodded in sympathy. "I guess that's the truth of it. My aftermarket upgrades did help a little with the last part at least. Probably would have died of thirst and starvation in a few days if not for all of the tech I've got under the hood now. Not sure how I managed the rest though." He purposely avoided mentioning the dead organization responsible for his enhancements.

"That's sort of the reason I called you up here Shepard." Hackett explained making his way around the end of the desk to seat himself on the edge facing the Commander. "I understand this may not be the best time for this sort of thing but I wanted to get your explanation on what exactly happened that day. You don't need to give me a fully detailed report. Just the short and sweet version. What happened before and after the Crucible fired that you can remember?"

Shepard took a deep breath and replayed the memories in his head to put them into some kind of tangible order. "The assault on the transport beam had stalled when Harbinger showed up. Everyone else had been killed or were falling back when I made it into the beam. It sent me up to a harvesting area that had been created when the Citadel rearranged itself. I found Anderson and Harper in a kind of control room."

Hackett held up a hand to stop him. "Harper?"

"Jack Harper. The Illusive man. Not many people actually knew his real name."

"I see. Go on Commander." Hackett nodded.

"Yes sir. As I mentioned I found the two of them in a control center with a single console in front of a huge window. They were struggling over a sidearm in front of the console when I arrived. Harper had been fully indoctrinated so the Reapers were trying to use him to stop us. He even looked like one of their Husks. He managed to get a round off into Anderson's abdomen before I could get a clear shot and take him down…" Shepard hung his head as he replayed the horrific scene through his mind. He could almost smell the ozone from the weapon's discharge and the scent of freshly pooling blood again.  
>Hackett's brow dipped for a few moments as well out of respect for their mutual friend. "What happened next Commander."<p>

Shepard swallowed the lump in his throat before it could fully form and pressed on. "Anderson passed just before I lost consciousness myself. When I woke up I was laying on the deck where the Citadel and Crucible were docked. There was a child there."

"A child? Like a Human child?" Hackett sounded dumbfounded.

Shepard shook his head. "Well no, not really. It looked like a child. A little boy I'd seen killed when the Reapers first hit Earth. But it wasn't him. It was like some ghostly image of him. It said it was the collective consciousness of all the Reapers. Their guiding intelligence."

The Admiral's usually unreadable expression had lifted into one of genuine curiosity. "And what did it say to you?"

"It said…" Shepard closed his eyes trying to recall the surreal conversation he'd had with the apparition of his most hated enemy. "It said that it had been created by the species we called Leviathan to protect organic life. To safeguard the galaxy from extinction or something along those lines. Then it gave me a choice on how to fire the Crucible."

"What choice?"

"… I could either use it control them myself, fuse all organic life with synthetics, or destroy them and every artificially created intelligence in the galaxy."

Hackett rubbed his chin in deep thought. "The first two sound suspiciously similiar to indoctrination to me."

Shepard nodded. "My thoughts exactly sir. It wasn't an easy decision to make considering what we stood to lose but given the options I was given I didn't see another viable choice. Not after what they'd done to our galaxy."

"Who else have you told this to?"

"No one sir." He admitted truthfully. He hadn't even had time to explain it to Tali.

Hackett stood and paced a few feet away. "Good. For now we should keep it that way. For what it's worth I agree with your assessment but the other species might not see it the same way. Especially after what happened with the Batarian relay. Our alliance is still fragile so we need to keep the boat rocking to a minimum. At least until we get the majority of our relays functional again."

"The relays sir?"

The Admiral turned to regard him again as his pacing ceased. "I see no one has told you. About a dozen of the relays closest to our system have been severely damaged with the rest at the very least knocked offline. We're still getting reports in on their status. We've managed to piece together the Sol relay fairly quickly with help from the other races but as of right now it's only a one way street."

"I see…"

"It was still the right call Commander. We're already rebuilding what we can and even despite the death of the Council we're seeing galactic cooperation on a scale we've never witnessed before in history. You're a hero Shepard." The Admiral stepped forward to clap him on the shoulder before walking back to have a seat behind his desk.

Shepard inwardly winced from the pain but didn't allow it to show on his face. "Thank you sir. Um… If I may sir I'd like to ask a couple questions of my own."

"By all means Commander."

"Well first is if you have any information on the whereabouts of some of my ground team? I've only seen a handful of them since waking up and none of my team seems to have any information." His heart started to beat a little faster when his superior's expression fell.

The older man cycled through several holographic screens flickering out of his desk before stopping on the one he was looking for. "James Vega's body was found on the outskirts of London's eastern border. The Prothean Javik was pronounced dead on arrival at one of our field hospitals just before the Crucible fired. The Normandy's AI EDI was confirmed inert by our techs upon your team's return and former Cerberus Operative Lawson is currently MIA. Your comm specialist Samantha Traynor was severely injured when the Normandy went down and is currently in a coma. She's being treated aboard the medical frigate Springwell." He swiped to the right to bring up another list before continuing. "Your Krogan squad mate Grunt has returned to Tachunka with Urdnot Wrex. The Asari Justicar Samara has also returned to her home world to help with rebuilding efforts. Jacob Taylor is currently stationed in Brisbane with Doctor Cole." He paused as he closed out the display and studied the Commander's reaction. "I'm sorry the news isn't better Shepard."

"… It was a war. There were bound to be casualties… Do you have any information about the attack on St. Marks?" Shepard could feel the cold empty pit in his stomach grow with every name the Admiral listed off but he was determined to have all his questions answered before their conversation was done. He doubted he would have the strength to talk about it again.

"Actually I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on that for me. Did you get a look at who instigated the attack? We have teams coming the wreckage but they haven't uncovered anything so far."

Shepard shook his head and inadvertently clenched his fists. "Not enough for any kind of an ID. I don't think it was any of the council races. It might have been Rachni I suppose but I don't think so. A Reaper hold out doesn't really fit either. Other than those two possibilities your guess is as good as mine. Were there any other survivors?"

The Admiral's face was an unreadable mask. "None. The entire security detail and all other patients being treated there were killed in the attack. We were hoping for some security or helmet cam footage to go off of but whoever is responsible was incredibly thorough in covering their tracks. I understand that your attending physician…"

"Yes… She was a close friend…"

"I'm very sorry Commander. I knew Karen Chakwas. The Alliance is lesser for her loss." Hackett did his best to offer sympathy but his low growling voice robbed his attempt of any of the concern he tried to convey.

Shepard glanced aimlessly around the room suddenly wishing to be anywhere else at that particular moment. The Admiral noted the shift in his demeanor and graciously moved forward with the conversation. "Before we finish I'd like to take a moment to discuss your next assignment."

The Commander's eyes immediately snapped back to the man sitting across the desk from him. "Actually sir I had hoped to submit a request for a leave of absence."

Hackett stood and clasped his hands behind his back. "Denied. We need you now more than ever." His expression never wavered.

"… With all due respect sir. I'm in no fit state to provide any kind of assistance to the Alliance or anyone else in my present condition." The Commander couldn't help the steely edge that crept into his voice.

"I disagree. I've already forwarded the details to your private extranet address and sent a list of necessary supplies to my procurement officer here aboard the Logan. You're set to ship out in three days after the memorial services are held."

Shepard had to work to control his rapidly rising blood pressure and keep from grinding his teeth in frustration. "Admiral Hackett. Sir. Surely there must be someone better suited to perform whatever mission you have in mind."

The Admiral leisurely made his way back to the window and stared out in silence for a few seconds, his hands still clasped behind his back. "But Commander. Who would be better suited than the Savior of the Galaxy to spread the news of our triumph through Alliance and Council space?"

Shepard nearly let loose with a barely controlled outburst but bit his tongue at the last moment as Hackett's words started to sink in. "… Wait what?"

"A victory cruise Commander. I'm sending you out to get some RnR while you improve our relations with our allies. You're a hero to everyone in the galaxy. They need to see you out amongst the other races to solidify their commitment to the cause." He couldn't tell but Shepard was almost positive that the Admiral was smiling to himself as he gazed out the window at his lazily spinning home world.

"Will I be going on this mission alone sir?" The Commander asked somewhat hesitantly, still unsure of whether he should believe what he was hearing.

Hackett didn't turn. "All surviving members of your ground team who are able and willing will be accompanying you on the cruiser HMSC Archimedes." He held up his hand to forestall the argument he knew was coming. "I know you would prefer to travel aboard the Normandy but she's been grounded for the time being to complete her retrofits and repairs. Assuming you decide to continue your career with the Alliance upon completion of your mission the Normandy will be waiting for you."

"I… Thank you sir… I hadn't expected anything like this."

"We take care of our own Commander. You've earned every bit of appreciation we can give you and then some. With the relays down it's going to take you some time to make your rounds. Plenty of time to rest and build up your strength again. All I ask is that you make yourself visible and available while you're out there. We have a loose itinerary for you as well but it's not set in stone. You have the freedom to dictate your own course and time frames." Hackett turned back from the window and reached up to activate his omni-tool. "I also understand that you and your engineer have participated in some kind of Quarian bonding ritual, is that right?"

Shepard was thrown for a loop by the last question and didn't quite know how he should respond to it. "I… Well yes sir. The Aleya'Pohrune ceremony. But that's not exactly common knowledge. If I may, how did you find out about that?"

Hackett gave the Commander a knowing grin as he answered. "Don't forget the majority of your crew were Alliance. People talk."

"I'm not sure what that has to do with our current situation sir." Superior officer or not, Shepard was bothered by the idea of someone having access to events he specifically intended to keep private.

"If you're willing I'd like you to make your relationship public. The Quarians stand to make a lot of headway in galactic politics if something like this were to be displayed to the other races and the support of the Quarian fleet would go an incredibly long way in rebuilding the relay network."  
>The Admiral tapped a few keys into his omni-tool's display before allowing the interface to flicker out.<p>

The Commander mulled over the suggestion for a few seconds before responding. "That's not something I can decide alone sir. I'll discuss it with her first and then inform you of our decision."

"Of course Commander I understand. Just know that you would have a profoundly positive impact on Quarian relations going forward if you did."

Shepard heard the door sliding open behind him as his escort returned to see him out of the office. "One last thing sir. About the attack on the hospital. Would you please forward any information you find to me? I'd like to at least be kept in the loop while you narrow down the list of suspects." He felt hands take hold of the handles on his wheelchair as he finished.

"I'll send you what I can. Just remember that you're supposed to be out there relaxing and strengthening friendships." Hackett saluted before returning to his desk. "Thank you Commander. From us all. Dismissed."

"Thank you Admiral." Shepard returned the salute before his attendant wheeled him out.

They passed through the scintillating weapon detector/decontamination grid and through the door back into the bright light of the Logan's corridor. He saw Tali standing with the two other guards easily chatting with one another like old acquaintances.

"Shepard!" She called when she saw him and trotted over to meet him while waving goodbye to her new friends. "How did it go?" She asked nodding to the female guard as she took her place at his back.

"Pretty well all things considered. I have a lot to tell you about. How did it go with those two back there?"

He could tell she was smiling. "Let's just say they have a new respect for Quarian engineers and leave it at that."

"Doesn't everybody? Where are we going?" He asked as they passed the corridor that would take them to their adjoining quarters.

"You remember how we felt like the ship was so empty on the way? Well they're all gathered down in the cargo hold for your official medal award ceremony. Half the officers in the fleet are here!"

Tali sounded much more enthusiastic about the ceremony than he felt. The prospect appearing so vulnerable to so many people didn't appeal to him in the slightest. "Oh. Well that sounds… Delightful…"  
>"Relax Shepard. The ceremony won't be very long. We'll just mingle for a little while afterward then I'll take you back to your room."<p>

He cleared his throat.

"Our room." She corrected with an exasperated sigh.

"That's better. I'll try not to pass out before it's over."

"Don't be such a baby." She quipped grinning behind her visor.

He let his own smile brighten his face but decided not to rise to the bait. Right there, right then he was completely content to let her help him forget all the pain and misery he carried. He would enjoy himself.

And so he did. The proceedings were mercifully brief while most of the evening was spent catching up with some familiar faces he hadn't seen since his days in the N7 academy, acquainting himself with new ones, and relaxing amongst his close knit group of friends. He felt at home. Best of all every one of his ground team had agreed to accompany him and Tali on their journey through the galaxy. He had everything he wanted.

"See? I told you it wouldn't be so bad." Tali pointed out as they made their way back to their quarters.

"I have to admit. You were right. It really was good to see everyone. See the faces of the people we were doing all of this for. And who'd have guessed Liara and Garrus? I totally didn't see that coming."

"You were the only who hadn't put the pieces together yet." She deadpanned.

He smiled. "Oh come on. They kept it hidden pretty well."

"Liara did. Garrus couldn't have been more obvious if he had a neon sign glued to his forehead."

"Guess we were always too busy talking about you for him to get a word in about it." Shepard chuckled thinking how true that statement actually was.

She smiled down at him as they turned the last corner before arriving at their cabin. "You went to Garrus for romantic advice? That explains a lot."

"Seems like it worked to me." He answered as he keyed the door open.

She pushed him inside and over to the bed on the other side of the modest one room cabin. "I suppose it did."

Together they stripped off his now terribly wrinkled dress uniform and got him into a pair of comfortable Alliance issue sweats and t-shirt. He noticed her strangled gasp at the sight of his horribly scarred torso as they changed his bandages but he ignored it. Before long he was comfortably propped against a bank of pillows in bed.

"I need to grab a few things from the other room. I'll be right back." She said heading for the door. "Don't go anywhere." She called over her shoulder.

"Very funny. Don't quit your day job." He shot back and heard her laugh before the door closed behind her.

It had been some time since either of them had had anything to be cheerful about. Hearing her laugh again was like a refreshing splash of cool water over the wounds of loss he carried. He was determined to hear it more often. With a grin still on his face he pulled his extranet inbox on a data pad that had been left on his nightstand and began sifting through the astronomically huge pile of messages waiting for him. He dutifully read through each one for the first few minutes but started to skim through the ones that seemed most important when his eyelids started to feel heavy. He had just happened across one near the top of the list that had come from an unknown sender when Tali had returned carrying a small duffel full of her suit maintenance supplies and a few tubes of nutrient paste. He opened the message as she set her things down in the small closet and moved to join him on the bed.

"Shepard? What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost." She asked taking a seat next to him.

He couldn't answer. His hand trembled as all color drained from his skin as his eyes stared blankly at the screen. He could almost hear the familiar guttural growl menacingly echoing from gaping jaws. Tali reached out to tilt the data pad at an angle so she could see what had spooked him.

The message read: "It appears you survived my surprise. How unfortunate for you. Better you had perished with everyone else."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

2187 CE

Athena Nebula

Parnitha System

Planet Thessia

The clammy, still air was filled with the never-ending plinking of hundreds of tiny water droplets splashing onto the cold stone floor. An inescapable chill that seemed to chase away even the mere thought of warmth clung tenaciously to the dismal atmosphere. The rotten stink of decaying excrement filled every single breath. Small, circular domes that had been inlaid into the ceiling cast static pools of light onto the slippery wet floor, doing little to chase away the shadows that blanketed the claustrophobic tunnels.

Meraya L'Ivek wrinkled her nose in disgust at the repulsive smell as she slowly made her way through the winding passages. The sewers running just below the surface of Armali was no fit place for a distinguished Asari maiden like herself. She was only suited for the luxurious, and lavish existence that came from being the daughter of one of the most prestigious members of the Armali Council. Trudging through the muck in the city's cesspool raked against every fiber of her being.

She unconsciously flinched every time a drop of some unknown liquid dripped onto the deep sea green leather of her overpriced custom body suit, or dribbled down through her smoothly sweeping head crests to trickle down her neck. One of her designer commando style boots squished into something spongy but she didn't dare look down to see what it was.

"What the hell am I even doing here?" She asked no one in particular.

She knew full well the reason she was there. The reason she had gone there almost every day since the unexpected defeat of the Reapers. Rebuilding efforts had begun almost immediately after the tsunami of blazing crimson fire had swept across the surface of the planet taking all artificially intelligent life with it. She had been assisting her mother with the tedious business of coordinating resource allocation to prioritize work efforts on essential portions of the planet to try and salvage Thessia's severely destabilized economy. She had spent the better part of that first monotonous day making phone calls and staring at a never ending parade of numbers scrolling across her data pad. It was better than cowering in a safety bunker anxiously waiting for death at the hands of homicidal machines but it was still a far cry from the glamorous parties, and decadent gourmet fare she was used to.

Meraya continued through the labyrinth of passages that she had navigated so many times as to be able to do so with her eyes closed. Driven on by lustful purpose. As she made her way deeper into the darkened tunnels her mind replayed the events that had led her to this goddess forsaken place. The sun was just starting to sink below the horizon tinting everything in a ruby colored glow. She had told her mother that she was going for a short walk to give her eyes a chance to rest and had started out doing just that. As she strode along the embankment of the drainage channel some distance away from their extravagant mansion she had noticed someone standing near the mouth of a large culvert staring off into the sunset. Though the fading light made it difficult to discern many details, she could clearly see the feminine contours of the person's body through the gently waving folds of silky white fabric of the woman's full length dress rippling in the breeze. She could also clearly see pale, tawny colored skin and long chocolate colored hair. She had stopped to openly appraise the statuesque form of the woman in the growing twilight. She had never seen a member of another species in the flesh before so her curiosity had been piqued by what appeared to be an exceptionally tall human female standing only a couple dozen yards away. She continued to stare as the last vestiges of sunlight glinted off the tops of those buildings that were still standing. Then the figure had turned and strode out of sight into the sewage tunnels where Meraya now walked.

She remembered being struck by an odd compulsion to follow the mysterious woman which she had promptly acted upon. The vile odors and dank surroundings of the repulsive passage ways did nothing to deter her as she made her way through, spurred on by fleeting glimpses of white amidst the oppressive dark. At least she had come to a sort of impasse where the object of her curiosity seemed to have been waiting for her.

Goose bumps rippled through her flesh as she recalled her eyes locking with the woman's own arresting gaze. Everything about their first interaction seemed muddled like she was viewing it through a foggy blur, her only clear memory being the woman herself. Archaic wax candles flickered from their perches along otherwise barren stone walls, trying in vain to dissipate the shadows that hung heavily in the small chamber. Her heart was racing as she stepped through the archway from the tunnel into the enclosed space. The woman had spoken to her and she had responded but couldn't remember exactly what had been said as her eyes greedily played over semi-sheer, snow colored fabric to drink in the tantalizing glimpses of smooth skin beneath.

Her memory of the rest of that night was completely lost save for an unimaginably intense feeling of euphoria. She had woken up on a soft bed covered by thick velvety fur in a smaller room connected to the first beside the woman whose name she still didn't know before being escorted back to the surface. She enthusiastically agreed to the woman's request that she return again that night, and had done the same every night since. Occasionally bringing delicacies from one of the city's still standing gourmet restaurants or a data pad with galactic news or recordings of encrypted communiques. She never once thought to ask why, or for what reason her lover decided to sequester herself in such a filthy abode. So long as her desires were fulfilled she didn't truthfully care.

On this particular evening she hadn't been asked to bring anything only that it was essential she should ensure that she hadn't been followed. She personally saw no reason to keep their little tryst a secret but she had dutifully complied with her mistress's wishes. As she rounded the final corner leading to the candle lit chamber beyond she caught the familiar flash of white in the gloom and quickened her stride. All of the indignation and irritation at having to slog through the sewer sludge dissipated in an instant as she hurried forward into her lover's warm embrace.

"You're later than usual."

She nearly melted every time she heard that silken voice. "I'm sorry mistress. My mother is becoming more suspicious every day."

"It's alright Meraya. Did anyone follow you here?" The woman said in the same satin tone though her question was tinged with a barely noticeable air of concern.

Meraya relaxed and rested her head on her lover's chest who stood more than a foot taller than she did. "No mistress. I was careful to cover my tracks so no one would know where I've gone."

"Good. It's better that what I'm going to tell you remain between the two of us."

"Of course. Whatever you want mistress." She closed her eyes and listened to the trio of heart beats beneath her lover's ample breast and breathe in the other woman's intoxicatingly sweet scent that seemed to completely overwhelm her every sense.

The young Asari's last statement brought an unsettling sharp toothed grin to the woman's face. "I have received word that a guest of great importance may be coming to visit Thessia. If he does I want you to ensure that he comes to Armali. Would you be able to do that for me my love?" She asked as she lightly traced a line along Meraya's jaw with her fingertips.

Meraya shivered as the gentle touch sent prickles down her spine. "Of course mistress. Who is our guest?" She could feel the tickle of the bony tendrils she had at first mistaken to be dark mahogany hair caressing her knuckles at the small of her mistress's back.

The woman shifted to hold her at arms length and stare down into her eyes with her own faintly glowing sanguine orbs. Meraya could only mutely gaze back into the gorgeous visage that could completely enrapture her with little more than a glance.

"His name is Lucian Shepard."

2187 CE

Local Cluster

Sol System

Geosynchronous Orbit Over Planet Earth

Tali shifted uncomfortably in her seat aboard the shuttle that was ferrying her and her friends to the Alliance cruiser HMSC Archimedes. Ordinarily she would have felt right at home stuffed into the cramped cargo hold with everyone else but this time felt distinctly different. She was surrounded by the people she had come to regard as her adopted dysfunctional family and her beloved Kaleya yet a nagging doubt niggled at the back of her mind. She had previously dismissed the feeling as nothing more than a byproduct of her sadness as their team said their final words of farewell to their fallen comrades at the memorial service just hours before. However that annoying sensation had only intensified as time passed.

She hadn't been present when the Commander had taken Admiral Hackett aside after the service to inform him of the anonymous message he had received. The Admiral's reaction had been less than encouraging. She had needed to pester Shepard for more than half an hour once they had returned to their shared quarters to pack before he relented and angrily explained the exchange to her. The Admiral had promised that he already had top people working the case and that the Commander's focus should remain on his current assignment. All the while disinterestedly waving away Shepard's arguments that discovering the identity of the attacker should take priority over a cruise given the assassin's blatant disregard for collateral loss of life.

The Commander had been fuming ever since feeling like he was being stonewalled by the Citadel Council all over again. She had tried to convince him that the Admiral was only doing what he thought was best but she didn't believe her own words.

She didn't like it but wasn't in any position to argue. With a sigh she mentally pushed her doubts down and tried to focus on the positive side of their upcoming hiatus. She would finally have real time to spend with Shepard without being interrupted by the ever looming prospect of deadly combat. He had also promised her that they would be enjoying an extended stay on Rannoch as one of their final stops. She had received multiple communications from the remaining Admiral's inquiring as to when she might be returning to the home world but had until now decided to ignore them. It was entirely out of character for her to act so selfishly and put her own personal agenda above that of her people but after everything she had been through she had started to view her ship mates aboard the Normandy as more of a family than her own people could ever be. They had survived the Exodus when the Geth drove them from their home, they had survived the purgatory of drifting aimlessly through space, they had survived the Reaper invasion and subsequent reclamation of their home planet. They could survive a little longer without her.

"Penny for your thoughts." A familiar cheerful voice from her right broke her reverie.

"What?"

Kasumi's bright smile gleamed beneath the shadow of her hood. "Very old Human saying. It means you look like you're thinking about something interesting and I'm curious to find out what it is."

Tali cocked her head quizzically to the side. "What's a penny?"

"It used to be currency. It was a little metal coin people used to use in certain countries to buy things. So how about it? Any juicy little tidbits you feel up to sharing?" The thief's voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. "I've always wondered if Shep snores or talks in his sleep."

"How would I know?"

Kasumi's eyes rolled. "Girl please. You two couldn't be any more obvious if you shouted it from the mountain tops. Now come on, there's got to be something quirky about the Commander no one knows."

Tali thought for a few moments trying to think of something she could share that wouldn't be too embarrassing for her Kaleya. She appreciated the brief respite from the darker feelings she'd been brooding on but was also somewhat disappointed that she didn't know more about him. She promised herself that would change.

"Well… He does have an odd fascination with miniature ship models."

Kasumi tried to stifle a giggle. "Really? That's hilarious. I never would have expected the Commander to be into that sort of thing."

"He wasn't until after what happened to the original Normandy. At least I don't remember him being interested in them then. The first time I saw his cabin on the SR2 though he had an entire glass case filled with them. He was very proud." Tali couldn't help her own smile.

They both glanced over to where Shepard sat beside Garrus on the opposite side of the shuttle's congested cargo bay. At first he didn't notice their stares as he talked with his Turian friend but eventually he became aware that he was being watched.

"What?"

Kasumi raised her hand to wave sweetly. "Nothing Shep. You're looking particularly handsome today."

"Um… Thank you." He awkwardly said as he glanced over at Tali with a questioning look. She was glad he couldn't see her face flush with color behind her violet visor.

He stared suspiciously at the two of them for several moments before returning to his conversation with an equally confused Garrus.

Kasumi just laughed as she turned back to her Quarian confidant. "So what else you got?"

The rest of the shuttle ride passed by quickly enough. Before long they had touched down within the Archimedes' cargo hold and gone their separate ways to explore the ship that would be their home for possibly the next few years depending on how quickly the relays they needed would be repaired. Jack had immediately gravitated toward the bottom of the ship while Garrus had unsurprisingly found his way to the main battery. Kasumi had all but disappeared in her own exploration while Liara had decided to accompany Garrus. Kaidan had headed up toward the bridge with Joker leaving Tali and Shepard to wind their way through the honeycomb of compartments on the crew deck.

It was incredibly slow going since he had insisted that he was capable of walking. She knew better than to try and dissuade him but wasn't without her worry that he was pushing himself too hard. Healing factor of his implants or not. His recovery was nothing short of miraculous given the laundry list of injuries he'd sustained but he was still irrevocably Human which meant he still had a long road ahead before he would be back to the shape he'd been in before the final push on Earth. Building up his muscles so he could walk on his own again was just one of the steps on that road. Still she couldn't help but feel some trepidation that he was going too fast.

"Why don't we stop in the mess hall for a bite to eat?" She suggested as she gingerly guided him along by one arm.

"I'm not really hungry."

"Well I'm starving." She persisted although she really wasn't hungry either.

"You go on ahead. I want to check out the bridge with Joker and Kaidan before we get under way. Meet you back here to find our quarters?" He offered starting to pull his arm out of her grasp.

She clutched his sleeve. "Shepard you need to take it easy. You aren't even supposed to be…"

His exasperated sigh cut her off. "I feel just fine. Really. If I had to be stuck in that chair for another day I was going to lose my mind."

She could understand his feelings but didn't back down. "You've made progress in days that should have taken months. I think you can manage waiting a few more." Her voice lowered to a murmur as he tried to pull away again. "Please Kaleya… For me."

"Guh… Fine."

She smiled. "I knew you'd see it my way."

"Yeah yeah don't get cocky. Someday I'll be able to actually resist that voice." He grumbled.

"No you won't." She countered sweetly.

He stared for a long moment into her dimly glowing eyes. "… You're right. I won't." He admitted with a small grin. "At least help me up to the bridge. Then I'll do whatever you want."

"Whatever I want?" She asked with a playful tone.

His widening smile was his only answer as they slowly made their way to the lift. Within a few minutes they had arrived at their destination. Both Kaidan and Joker were still present. Joker had somehow finagled his way into the pilot's chair while Kaidan casually chatted with the pretty blond officer in charge of communications.

"I see you two have made yourselves right at home." Shepard quipped as they entered the spacious cockpit area.

Kaidan was the first to respond. "Just getting to know our new crew Commander. I'm a little surprised to see you up and around already."

Shepard glanced around at the endless banks of holographic displays that encircled the arrow shaped bridge. "I wanted to nail down our itinerary before we set out and see how things were going up here."

"As good as they can I guess. This thing handles like a beached whale." Joker piped in.

"You're just pissed that they don't have leather seats." Kaidan teased.

Joker shook his head in disgust. "Yeah it sucks I'll give you that."

"Anyway. Where are we headed to first?" The Commander asked trying to steer the conversation back on track.

"We were set to stop at Palaven first but we were just forwarded a request to change our initial destination by Alliance High Command." Kaidan replied pulling up a copy of the communication on a data pad.

"Where does he want us to go?" Shepard asked as Kaidan handed him the data pad with Tali peeking over his shoulder to skim it's contents as well.

Joker answered with more enthusiasm then he meant to. "Armali on Thessia."

**Once again apologies for the late update. Back troubles and work tend to eat up a lot of my free time. Still this story is only just starting to scratch the surface so I don't plan on stopping any time soon. Thanks for sticking with it!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Apologies for the slow updates. Things are still a little hectic so it's hard to find time to write and proof read. We're about to get into some really fun stuff so be sure to stick around for the upcoming chapters! As always thank you for the comments, favs, and follows as they are the biggest reason to keep going!**

Chapter 7

Unknown Time

Unknown Cluster

Unknown System

Unknown Planet

Rannoch's subdued amber sun smoldered high in the empty crystal blue sky radiating it's comforting warmth across an arid garden of colossal stone pillars and steppes. A light breeze weakly played through gaps in the stone sentinels occasionally breaking the otherworldly silence with tiny whispers of air flowing over the craggy rocks. No other sound met her ears. No buzz of insects, no hum of nearby civilization, nor the ever present rumble of carbon dioxide scrubbers she had grown up with on the fleet. She stood poised over the precipice of an unfathomably high cliff face and breathed deep the earthy fragrance of her home planet as the lazy breath of wind tickled across the skin of her exposed face and playfully rippled through her thick ebony hair.

Tali slowly stooped to run her fingers through the reddish sand at her feet before gathering up a handful of the fine grained silicate and standing to watch it slowly trickle out of her open palm. She closed her eyes and raised her uncovered face toward the heavens to relish in the pleasant heat radiating across the pale indigo skin of her naked body. Every sensation brought ever growing feelings of unadulterated euphoria dancing joyously through her consciousness. She spread her arms wide to absorb as much of the warmth as she possibly could while a satisfied smile crept unbidden to her lips. Only one other thing in the entirety of the universe could have made her happier at that moment.

"Tali?" Her smile grew at the familiar voice's utterance of her name.

"Saleya?" He asked again.

She didn't turn but let her arms drop to her sides. "Yes Kaleya?"

"… Tali?" His voice sounded distant. Sorrowful.

Her smile vanished as the comforting radiance of the sun high above intensified to a harsh blaze. Her velvety soft skin started to crack and sting under the dry searing heat. She lifted one hand to protect her eyes and turned to face her Kaleya.

"Shepard, what's…" She halted mid sentence.

Instead of the Commander, she faced the corpse of her dear friend Kal'Reegar. He sat propped against the smooth stone face of an immense stone building amidst the ancient settlement they had been tasked to explore on the miserable planet Haestrom. He clutched a battered rocket launcher in one hand across his lap while his other rested limply on the bleached ground beside him. He almost looked peaceful save for the many gaping rents torn through his torso and the bloody ruin that used to be his face.

She stood mute for what seemed like years as the dying star that mercilessly baked Haestrom's dry and cracked surface gradually shifted into the searchlight stare of a Geth. All around her the monolithic stone buildings gradually faded into darkness until all was blanketed in shadow save for the small pool of illumination where she herself stood. Gone were the feelings of sheer delight at being completely free of the suit that had imprisoned her since childhood to be replaced by unsettling vulnerability. Her every flaw and mistake laid bare under the harsh light that streamed down from above. She desperately tried to cover herself as another voice called to her from the darkness.

"Tali? Why weren't you there? Why didn't you come sooner?"

She glanced about frantically searching for the speaker while still attempting to conceal her modesty. "Father? I did come! Please I never wanted you to…"

"How could you? Your mother would have been ashamed…"

"Please… Please don't…" His cruel words and harsh tone cut her to the very bone.

At last she could just make out the square shouldered outline of Rael'Zorah standing off in the distance with his arms sternly folded across his chest. Tears began to spill from the corners of her slanted eyes to glisten on her delicate cheeks as she ran toward him. All thought of covering herself utterly abandoned.

"Father please! I only wanted to make the two of you proud!"

He shook his head in disgust. "You turned your back on your people… On me… On your mother… All to follow some Human in his misguided ventures across the stars…"

"No! I followed him BECAUSE of you! He was the only one who could have saved you!" She screamed at the vile apparition of her father who didn't seem to be getting any closer.

He only shook his head again as the Geth spotlight overhead flitted down to hover just beyond his right shoulder. Her chest heaved with every stride she took closer to him yet still the distance between them barely shrunk at all. He said something else to her but she couldn't hear him past the pounding in her ears. As he did the formless glowing orb gradually resolved itself into the unmistakable silhouette of a Geth foot soldier. She screamed in anguish as a fountain of scarlet erupted from his chest to paint sanguine droplets over her horrified expression. He limply collapsed into a heap as she reached out for him. Just as her fingertips brushed the gore stained fabric of his hood his body crumbled to dust before being carried away on a breeze should couldn't feel.

She fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands while uncontrollable sobs wracked her lithe frame. The Geth stood menacingly over her weeping form holding it's still smoking assault rifle. She raised her tear streaked visage to stare into the unwavering gaze of her father's murderer but her eyes never made it past the battered piece of N7 armor hastily welded to the synthetic soldier's torso before it to crumbled to dust leaving her alone in the darkness. She screamed but no one was around to hear her.

2187 CE

Athena Nebula

Parnitha System

In Transit from Mass Relay

Tali bolted upright flinging the sheet covering her away as if it was some kind of venomous snake. Her chest ached as she tried to pull in gulps of air through her helmet's air purifiers to calm her racing heartbeat. Her eyes darted from one shadow to the next awaiting some new terror to materialize from out of the gloom to torment her further. She leapt out of bed with a strangled shriek as a hand heavily landed on her left shoulder.

"Whoah easy. It's just me." Shepard groggily said from the other side of the mattress.

"S… Sorry I just."

"Had a bad dream?" He knowingly finished for her as he laboriously propped himself up on one elbow to look at her.

She nodded and hugged her arms around her middle.

"It's alright, the past few years have given me my fair share of those too. Come here." He beckoned her over with his free hand that was no longer encased in the thick cast that had covered it.

She hesitated for a few moments before relenting and sliding back under the covers beside him. He snaked his arm underneath her neck to pull her closer. At first she was rigid and tried to keep her distance but quickly settled into her usual relaxed position at his side.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked cautiously as she rested her head on his chest.

She traced the outline of the Alliance insignia on his grey t-shirt for a few moments before answering. "It's nothing you haven't already heard before."

"Doesn't mean I can't listen again. You and I both know you always feel better when you can talk to someone."

"I… Well. I just wonder if I… You know. Made the right choices." She hesitantly began.

He hugged her tighter. "About what?"

"About everything. Was it right to leave my people to chase after Saren with you? Should I have stayed with them after Freedom's Progress and Haestrom? Would my… Would my father still be alive if I had?"

Shepard reached down to halt her hand's flight across his torso. "You can't do that to yourself Tali. You've made the choices you have and have to live with the consequences of them. Worrying about all of the what ifs in my life nearly destroyed me. I don't want to see the same happen to you."

"I know but…"

"No buts. You saw the sorry state I was in when we came to get you on Haestrom. I absolutely refuse to let you go through that. You can talk about what's bothering you until you're blue in the face…" She cocked her head to eye him pointedly. "Right… Poor choice of words. Anyway, I'm here to pick you up and dust you off Saleya. Just like you always have for me."

She sighed and nestled herself in closer. "You always know exactly what to say…"

He chuckled and let his eyes drift shut. "I'm glad you think so… Because I'm usually just making it up as I go."

"Shhh. Don't ruin it." She murmured feeling her own eyelids growing heavy. "How much longer do we have?"

"A few more hours…" He replied sleepily after a few moments but she was already fast asleep.

2187 CE

Athena Nebula

Parnitha System

Planet Thessia

The last several hours had been a blazing whirlwind of activity since the surviving members of the Normandy SR2 disembarked from the the shuttle that had ferried them from the HMSC Archimedes to be bombarded by the elated cheers of the azure throng that met them. Just like in London, most of the city of Armali was little more than a rubble strewn crater, yet despite the devastation there had been no expense spared in the Asari's welcome.

Opulent amethyst carpet stretched out before them all the way down the gangway leading away from their shuttle's port and into the main spaceport terminal several hundred yards distant surrounded on both sides by hundreds of Asari. Golden streamers fluttered in the wind atop every tower, roof corner, and guardrail lending a distinct but barely noticeable chatter to the raucous clamor. Off in the distance a brilliant display of pyrotechnics lit up the growing twilight in a radiant light show of dazzling colors in every hue of the rainbow. Beautiful smooth music played through the spaceport's intercom speakers but was entirely lost in the din of so many voices crying out at once. Everywhere tiny VI driven cameras flitted and zipped around them like a swarm of buzzing insects.

Nearly a dozen Armali City Councilors had greeted them as they made their way down from the shuttle's berth and quickly escorted them into and through the terminal to several hover limos clustered around the cordoned off main entrance. Although several of the Asari dignitaries had introduced themselves before piling into the limousines with them, Tali hadn't been able to actually hear any of their names. She couldn't help a small giggle as she watched Liara tenaciously clinging to Garrus' arm as they climbed into their transport just before she followed Shepard into theirs. She was used to crowds but doubted that her reclusive Asari friend would be able to handle such an overwhelming situation with the same grace and poise she normally exuded.

Three of the entourage that had met them at the port piled in behind her to take seats on the thickly padded bench seat that ran the length of the passenger compartment while Tali took her place at Shepard's side in the froward facing leather seat in the rear of the limo. A small bar filled with all manner of decadent spirits gathered from the four corners of the galaxy dominated the side opposite their sapphire skinned escorts. Tali's gaze briefly flickered over to find her Kaleya's but he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Those days were far behind him.

"I must say it is truly an honor to receive you here Commander Shepard." The Asari woman closest to them began.

"Thank you councilor it's a pleasure to be here. I have to admit I wasn't entirely prepared for the magnitude of our reception." He answered respectfully.

The Asari bowed her graciously. "Your initial arrival was meant to be a secret so naturally the entire city knows. Still we have taken steps to ensure that your privacy is not infringed upon during your stay."

Shepard bowed in return. "I appreciate that councilor. If you don't mind me asking, where exactly will we be staying?"

"In our estate since it has apparently become an inn." A young maiden that couldn't have been more than a year older than Liara when Tali had first met her aboard the original Normandy.

The first woman rounded angrily on the second. "Meraya bite your tongue. These are our esteemed guests." She turned back to Shepard and Tali. "I apologize to both of you. My daughter did not intend to cause offense."

Tali answered this time. "None taken councillor. Although we wouldn't want to intrude."

The older Asari twisted to eye her offspring with a pointed stare. "You will not be intruding in the least. I am terribly sorry for how I spoke." Her statement sounded genuine but the venomous glare she speared the two of them with said more than her words ever could.

Meraya's mother did her best to interrupt the uncomfortable silence that settled over the passenger compartment as the limousine cruised over the broken spires of Armali's skyline but her efforts at small talk were mostly unsuccessful.

"We will be heading to the capitol building first so you can deliver your speech and attend a small gathering before we take you to my estate so you can rest."

Shepard chuckled. "I wasn't aware I was giving a speech."

Tali nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. "Please. The great Commander Shepard is never without some kind of stirring words of inspiration. Keelah I had to practically drag you away from the gathering on the Rayya."

"Splendid! We will go over your itinerary on the way back. For now try to relax and enjoy some of our affection."

And so the rest of the evening was spent being passed along the endless line of well wishers and person's of high repute exchanging repetitive pleasantries. To his credit the Commander had endured the exhaustive procession with a great deal more grace than she would have ever expected even without factoring in his diminished physical state. Neither of them had much cared for the glamour and pomp associated with what others might have described as high society given their origins as a colony brat on Mindoir and a Quarian raised on a ramshackle ship amongst the Migrant Fleet. Joker and Kaidan on the other hand seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely surrounded on all sides by gorgeous doe eyed maidens that hung on their every word.

She was especially happy to see Jeff genuinely smiling again. Losing his best friend apart from the Commander himself when the Crucible fired had sapped a great deal of his vitality and humor even if she was only an AI. He had hidden the hurt of his loss well as was his way but anyone that knew him well could see that he lacked the same pretentious disposition that he had become so famous for serving aboard the Normandy. She fervently hoped that amidst the sea of expectant faces was one that could help him move on.

Liara on the other hand looked like she would have rather been anywhere but in her present location. The same faces that offered a soothing balm to the raw feelings of grief that the Normandy's pilot harbored presented unwanted competition for the only just budding romance between Liara and her Turian escort. Fortunately Garrus had proven to be more than capable of tactfully displaying his affiliations as he never once broke physical contact with the clearly uncomfortable woman on his arm.

The only other person to look more ill at ease than Liara was Jack. From the moment they had exited the shuttle at the spaceport she had looked to be searching for a place to escape from the limelight and luxury while Kasumi was nowhere to be seen and likely wouldn't turn up again until they were back at their lodgings for the night. Tali could almost hear her saying 'I hate to deprive the galaxy of this face but this many cameras are bad for business'.

Though she was more at home in a large crowd than any of her companions, there was one thing that constantly grated on her somewhat frayed nerves. No matter where they went in the mass of dignitaries the councillor's daughter Meraya always seemed only a few steps away. Ordinarily this wouldn't have bothered Tali since she had become used to the furtive looks of disdain from other species but something about this particular young woman set her teeth on edge. At one point she had even asked the councillor about her daughter's seeming irritation at their presence while Shepard conversed with a group of commando's from Thessia's elite special forces unit.

She was surprised to learn that it had been none other than Meraya herself who had orchestrated their detour to Thessia in the first place using her mother's not inconsiderable influence on the galactic political stage. Given the amount of work it must have taken to accomplish what she did the relatively young woman's nearly overt hostility didn't make any logical sense. Still for the time being Tali had no intention of broaching the subject with her that night if at all. She was determined to enjoy her time with Shepard on their victory tour across the galaxy and wasn't going to let the ire of some pouty bosh'tet interfere with that.

At long last the festivities drew to a close and the Normandy's ground team were herded out to the overlong vehicles that waited to whisk them away to their accommodations for their stay on the Asari home world. The ride to the estate went by mercifully quickly although it might have seemed a great deal longer if Shepard hadn't requested that all of them be allowed to ride back together. Before long their sleek black limousine lightly touched down on a large raised landing pad alongside an unbelievably huge mansion and their motley crew piled out to be guided to their respective rooms by gossamer clad Asari servants.

Tali gingerly helped her exhausted Kaleya to their own immaculately furnished guest room. The ornately detailed door had barely slid shut before he collapsed onto the enormous bed.

"Hell of a day." He said staring up at the wispy sheer canopy that draped over the headboard.

Tali laughed and sank down onto the mattress with him. "I've seen you more comfortable facing down a herd of charging Klixen."

"At least you have a mask to hide your expression and a helmet with air filters. I wish I could have joined you in there. I swear I almost suffocated with all that fancy perfume in the air."

"There's an alluring thought." She purred turning on her side and running a long slender finger along his stomach and upper thigh.

Even through the fabric of his dress uniform and her suit's glove she could tell her touch had the desired effect. "Five minutes. When I get out of that shower there had better be nothing but skin between those sheets."

"Yes Commander." She answered with mock formality before reaching up to unclip one of the clasps on her chest.

"Make that two minutes." He amended quickly as he forced himself up off the bed and toward the cavernous wash room.

She smiled and brought up her omni-tool interface to administer a double dose of anti-biotics and immune system stimulators into her blood stream before methodically removing her enviro suit section by section. She briefly toyed with the idea of doing exactly what he wanted by removing everything but decided to make him work for it instead. In under a minute she was down to the thin temperature regulation fabric on her torso and legs. Last she unsealed her helmet and removed it to let her long silken hair spill down onto her narrow shoulders.

She could hear the water running and decided she wasn't willing to simply wait patiently for him to finish. Her heart started to thud in eager anticipation as she lightly padded to the door of the wash room as silently as possible and undid the last catch holding the remnants of her suit covering her upper body. With one hand holding the fabric in place over her chest she reached out with the other to push aside the archaic hinged door.

She stopped cold as she entered. A long streak of crimson blood in the shape of a hand on the glass of the shower mixed with several splashes of violet ichor. The Commander was nowhere to be seen.


	9. Chapter 8

**Last Author's note for a while I promise. Thank you to everyone who's been following this story and reaching out to provide encouragement to continue. Your comments, favs, and follows keep this going. Until my schedule calms down a bit I'll only be able to manage one update a week, but here in the next two weeks I should have a little more time to devote to developing this story so updates will come through more often. As it is I hope you all continue to enjoy as Incendium starts to slowly unfurl. **

Chapter 8

Unknown Time

Unknown Cluster

Unknown System

Unknown Planet

It was dark. The chilly moist air was absolutely still. For a moment Shepard felt a brief flicker of recognition as he remembered being in a place like this before. He would have called out to the keeper of this otherworldly nether realm but for two reasons. First was that he was unable to build up the breath needed to speak and second was that he definitely did not remember the same foul odor that invaded his nostrils under Leviathan's mind imprisoning influence.

His next thought was that the impenetrable obsidian veil that shrouded his vision was part of another of his nightmares. Yet somehow that didn't feel right either. He was definitely awake although his body was still laboring to metabolize whatever foreign substance was fouling his senses. He attempted to bring up his omni-tool to shed some light on his surroundings but was rewarded with absolutely nothing in response. His more basic instincts demanded that he panic but years of suppressing that very reaction on the fields of battle ultimately won out. For several long minutes he simply lay still letting the feel of the cold floor at his back focus his thoughts as he took one deep controlled breath after another. With each passing second the shroud fogging his faculties slowly dissipated allowing him to assess his current situation with greater clarity.

He first set about wiggling every single one of his fingers and toes to do a mental census of his physical state. All ten fingers and all ten toes responded, albeit somewhat sluggishly, to his commands telling him that he was still in possession of all four limbs. Next he cautiously swiveled his head side to side and up and down to perform a rudimentary check that his spinal column was not compromised. A stabbing pain just to the left of his right shoulder blade was somewhat worrisome though from the location and feel it didn't seem to be something he needed to address immediately.

After a handful more anatomical checks were completed he finally began to direct his attention to discovering where he was. First he brought his hand to his right ear in an attempt to activate the radio transmitter implanted there but quietly hissing static was his only reply. He then let his fingertips glide over the hard moisture slick surface upon which he rested. He slowly sat up though his aching body protested the movement, and continued probing outward with his fingers. Before long his search had been halted on one side by a vertical surface made of the same material as the floor on his right and a drop off to his left with the floor extending out of his reach both in front and behind. He slowly got to his feet being careful not to strike his already swimming head on anything that may lie above him.

His caution was rewarded as his hands felt out the low ceiling that was almost a foot lower than his straightened full height. He felt along in every direction as far as his arms could reach but didn't run into anything that might give him any more of a clue as to his whereabouts. He crouched back down to rest on his hands and knees while agonizing over his next move.

He was alone in an unknown location with no way of communicating with his team or calling for help. He might have been able to simply wait for some kind of rescue but since he couldn't remember how he had come to be in such a place he doubted that the passive approach would produce any results. Especially not in his still enervated condition with only a pair of Alliance issue uniform trousers to ward of the cloying chill in the air. That left only one other option. He was going to have to pick a direction and hope it was the path to escape.

After a few deep breaths to fight down the upwelling of panic that surged forward again at being lost in utter darkness he finally decided that one direction was as good as any other and began to laboriously crawl forward with his hands splayed out in front of himself to warn of any obstacles in his path forward. With his left hand he would occasionally reach out to confirm that the drop off was still there while alternating with his right reaching out to the wall in the same manner. In this way he hoped to maintain a semi straight path and avoid becoming turned around in the darkness only to retrace ground he'd already covered. After fumbling about for almost ten minutes he came to a corner that angled off to the right. He felt the rounded edge of the drop off first before reaching out to the wall to confirm that it also followed suit.

At first his palm had skimmed over several pieces of something littering the floor before making it to the base of wall. As his hand lightly brushed over the smooth surface he finally discovered something new. He recoiled slightly as the frayed ends of electronics wiring tickled across his knuckles followed shortly thereafter by the sharp jagged edges of shattered plastic. A tight smile lit his face in the darkness briefly as he reasoned that what he was feeling was some kind of light emitting device meaning that wherever he was might have some kind of illumination further on. The plastic also felt slightly warm which meant that this particular particular lamp had been working properly only a short time ago.

His fingers continued to fumble upwards searching for any other kind of clue when they brushed against a loose shard of the ruined lantern's casing that hadn't yet fallen from it's precarious perch within the light's inner housing. The sliver of synthetic material sent out a series if plinking echoes in the dark as it tumbled to the ground. Shepard's heart nearly stopped when he heard a low throaty hiss followed by a muted splash reverberated through the tunnel in reply. He was no longer alone.

Athena Nebula

Parnitha System

Planet Thessia

Tali frantically threw open the frosted glass door leading into the massive shower's mist obscured interior.

"Shepard!" She called after turning away from the empty cubicle. She keyed open her radio to the Normandy ground team's private frequency as she nearly tripped over her Kaleya's discarded garments and her own momentarily forgotten upper torso covering. "Are any of you still awake? I need help!"

Kaidan was the first to respond though his cheerfully slurred response was completely at odds with the desperation in Tali's own voice. "I'm here. What's up?"

"Shepard's gone!" She nearly yelled as she wildly searched the rest of the washroom.

"What was that?" Garrus distractedly inquired.

"I said Shepard is GONE!" She nearly shouted over the line.

"What do you mean gone?" Both Kaidan and Garrus asked at once.

She hopelessly looked about the enormous empty washroom and it's sole entrance. "I mean he was in the shower but there's blood on the glass and he's not here!"

"Stay calm, we're coming. What room were you in?" She could hear Garrus fumbling about on the other end of the line.

"We were in the rooms in the wing on the left. Second to last one from the end on the third floor." She hastily explained while simultaneously executing the program in her new omni-tool to activate her attack drone Chitika.

"Alright sit tight… What? No Joker you can talk to her later we need to go now!" Kaidan called back while trying to motivate their equally tipsy and stubborn pilot.

Tali left her drone to guard the front door while she ran back to the bedroom and tore through the pieces of her suit trying to find her sidearm. She heard the door to their suite swing open and bang against the stopper on the wall behind just as she pulled the pistol out of the haphazard pile of violet cloth. She raised the weapon and cautiously shuffled up to lean out of the archway leading to the bedroom keeping her sights fixed on the flat's entryway.

"Tali!" She heard Kaidan shout just before he stumbled into view followed shortly by a hobbling Joker.

She relaxed slightly and lowered her weapon. "I'm here."

They both turned toward the sound of her voice and immediately dropped their jaws on the floor.

"Holy shit…" Joker gasped.

Kaidan quickly averted his eyes but his less than sober companion simply stood in an awestruck stupor. Tali's face flooded with color as she crossed her arms over her naked upper body and turned away.

Kaidan grabbed Jeff by the shoulder to forcefully spin the pilot around "Damnit don't just sit there staring like an idiot." He growled. "We'll wait here for the others while you get dressed. Shout if you need anything." He said to her as rosy color started to creep up the back of his neck.

She hastily retreated back into the bedroom berating herself for not at least having the presence of mind to cover herself up before bumbling out into the open in front of everyone. Granted she had never actually encountered a problem like this since the entirety of her life had been spent inside a suit before meeting Shepard but she was still deeply embarrassed all the same.

She did her best to shake off her self-conscious humiliation as she threw on her suit but stopped short. "Um… Kaidan? Can you bring me the piece of my suit that's in the bathroom?" She called in a tiny voice.

"Already got it sweetie." Kasumi answered behind her as she tossed the rubbery black garment onto the bed. "I'll be right outside if you need anything."

"Thanks Kas. I'll just be a minute."

Her hands flew over the catches and seals of her suit as she re-assembled it piece by piece with practiced ease but her thoughts were squarely set on her missing Kaleya. He had only been gone a couple of minutes and yet somehow had been taken without so much as a whisper. She fastened the last clasp and engaged the seal of her visor as unwelcome feelings of fear like those that plagued her after finding Shepard on Earth buzzed through her mind. She forced them away as she once again scooped up her sidearm and resolutely charged the bolt to chamber a round. She wasn't going to lose him again.

As she exited the bedroom she found the entirety of their party already gathered in their suite searching for any sign of the Commander. Kasumi was running some sort of scan with her omni-tool just outside the bedroom door while Kaidan spoke to the alarmed Councillor and several others in the entryway. Jack had propped herself against one ornately painted wall to scowl at the cluster of Asari at the door while Garrus and Liara had both made their way into the bath room leaving Joker to mill about in the main living area actively trying to avoid eye contact with her.

Tali holstered her pistol before heading back to the washroom ignoring the gathering crowd at the entrance that Kaidan was valiantly trying to hold back. At this point they had no idea who might be responsible for the Commander's apparently violent disappearance so allowing unfamiliar hands to contaminate the scene was not an option. As she entered she found Liara scanning the crimson smear and lavender splashes that had spattered the semi-opaque glass of the shower while Garrus thoughtfully studied the large bay window set above the giant stone tile bath tub.

"Have you found anything?" She asked pensively.

Liara spoke up first. "Well I suppose it is obvious who made this one." She pointed to the scarlet streak. "However while I am certain that these are from an Asari I do not have the slightest idea of who might have made them." She admitted as she gestured to the rapidly coagulating purple splotches. "I have a program running to analyze a sample for DNA matching but it will take some time."

"That's a start." Tali said before turning to Garrus. "What have you found Garrus?"

He stood silently with his chin in one hand for several seconds formulating his thoughts as his practiced eye surveyed the scene before answering. "From what I can see I would bet they came in through the window or at least left that way. There's part of a dirty boot print on the window sill and a few specks of blood from both Shepard and his attacker." He carefully stepped into the tub and tested the window. "Was this open when you first got here?"

Tali shook her head trying to ignore the midnight blue smudges on his face that suspiciously resembled the same color covering Liara's lips. "I don't know. Neither of us came in here before he went to take a shower."

"Hmmm. Doesn't look like it was forced." Garrus pushed a few more times observing the hinges and transparent panes for any sign of foul play before unlocking the latch and swinging the window open. He craned his neck out to look both to the ground three stories down and then up two stories to the roof. "I don't see anything on the siding that would say they repelled down. If I had to guess I'd say that someone was already in here waiting and given that we have a trail of Asari blood I would say that they had to use their biotics to make it down without being heard."

"Do you… Do you think he's still alive?" Tali asked as a lump grew in her throat.

"Saren, Collectors, and Reapers couldn't do it. There's no way some Asari cutthroat would be able to either." He answered with complete conviction as if his statement were gospel truth.

His assurance helped to soothe her raw feelings of dismay but not completely. "We should hurry. Whoever it is still has a head start."

Her Asari and Turian companions nodded and together they strode out into the main living room to gather up the rest of their team. A large knot of Asari servants had gathered in the hallway behind their employer who was still heatedly arguing with an equally flustered Kaidan. Jack had left her perch against the wall to stand at his back. Barely contained flickers of electric blue fire sparked and sputtered around her arms and fists.

"This is my house! I demand that you stand aside!" The Councillor blustered.

"I can't do that Councillor. Not until we've had a chance to investigate. We don't know what happened or who was involved so until then you and your staff need to stay out here." Kaidan was nearing the end of his rope but was still just managing to edge out his fraying temper.

"I have contacted the authorities! You will be arrested if you do not step aside immediately!"

"I'd like to see them fucking try." Jack growled.

Tali quickly jumped between them to diffuse the situation. "It's alright Kaidan. They can come in. We need to get moving anyway."

"Absolutely not! They need to stay for questioning!" One of the Asari toward the back of the group behind the Councillor blurted out.

Tali instantly recognized the speaker. It was the Councillor's daughter.

"Good luck with that precious." Jack sneered as she pushed her way past the Councillor.

For a moment the Councillor looked ready to press the issue but thought better of it and stood to the side to allow the Normandy's crew to pass. Her daughter however shoved her way forward to bar their way. "They cannot leave until they have been interrogated by the police! They might be involved!"

"Be still Meraya." The Councillor hissed snatching her daughter by the sleeve and pulling her aside.

In that instant Tali caught a brief glimpse of a wine colored stain on the side of the Asari maiden's blouse. She nudged Garrus who gave her an almost imperceptible nod that he had seen it too.

"We would be happy to submit to any questioning required AFTER we've found the Commander." She said to the Councillor. "… And discovered who might be responsible for his disappearance." She speared the petulant girl with a withering stare as the rest of the team filed past her.

"Goddess go with you." Meraya smirked in a mocking tone.

Tali followed her team out but stopped short to lean in close so only the contemptuous youth could hear her. "You better pray to your goddess that he's alright because if anything happens to him nothing in this universe will save you from me." She turned to stride after her companions leaving a pale faced Meraya and her oblivious mother to watch them leave.

Unknown Time

Unknown Cluster

Unknown System

Unknown Planet

He could feel it's eyes searching for him as he desperately tried to shuffle forward without making any sound. All thought of maintaining a sense of direction to keep from becoming lost had been tossed aside by the instinct to escape from whatever horror lurked in the darkness. He had seen them. Three faintly glowing orbs piercing the inky shroud. A trio of predatory eyes scanning the blackness for it's prey. Then in an instant they vanished into the gloom with a sloshing sound before again appearing even closer. He could hear it slithering through whatever muck lay in the empty void his left hand had found when her first awoke in whatever hell he now found himself.

No matter which turn he took or how quietly he moved somehow his pursuer had steadily narrowed the gap between them inch by excruciating inch. He continued forward frantically trying to think of some way to either escape from the beast that stalked his footsteps or turn to fight it head on. Anything to end the agonizing game of cat and mouse. As fumbled through the darkness his fear addled mind began to play tricks on him. He imagined he could see more eyes staring at him from just outside his field of vision. He imagined that he could see the vague shapes of his surroundings starting to come into focus. He pressed onward ever faster and more reckless in his desperate bid to flee.

He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as his heart beat mercilessly against his ribcage. His breath came in ragged gasps as he staggered through what he thought was another turn in the tunnel. He reached out with his hand to touch the slick wet surface of the wall that he knew was there only it wasn't. He swayed off balance trying to steady himself but his next step met only empty air. He toppled unceremoniously over the edge of the walkway and plunged into the disgusting, putrid water that lay beneath. For a moment he flailed wildly trying to figure out which way was up as the vile filthy liquid flooded his nose and mouth.

At last his face broke the surface as he righted himself to stand in the chest deep muck and vomited the contents of his stomach into the sludge in reaction to the indescribably repulsive taste of the water on his tongue. For a moment he stood in the rotting mire to catch his breath but stopped as his heart leapt into his throat. He turned toward the sound of an onrushing tide coming down the tunnel to his left no more than a hundred feet away. At the head of that frighteningly fast wave were three slit pupil burning eyes and they were squarely set upon him.


End file.
